Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The state of being amused, entertained, or pleased.
  • noun Something that amuses, entertains, or pleases.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Absorbing thought; meditation; musing; reverie.
  • noun The state of being amused; mental enjoyment or diversion; moderate mirth or merriment due to an external cause.
  • noun That which amuses, detains, or engages the mind; pastime; entertainment: as, to provide children with amusements.
  • noun Synonyms Entertainment, Diversion, etc. (see pastime), sport.
  • noun In music, a brief entertaining piece, often one intended to give variety to technical exercises.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun obsolete Deep thought; muse.
  • noun The state of being amused; pleasurable excitement; that which amuses; diversion.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun uncountable Entertainment
  • noun countable An activity that is entertaining or amusing, such as dancing, gunning, and fishing.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a feeling of delight at being entertained
  • noun an activity that is diverting and that holds the attention

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Borrowed from French amusement, from amuse +‎ -ment.

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Examples

  • a diary, because it is the fashion -- a reason why _I_ should not; some because it is _blue_, but I am not _blue_, only a _blue devil_; some for their amusement, -- _amusement_!! alas! alas! and some that they may remember, -- and I that I may forget, O! would it were possible.

    The Diary of an Ennuyée 1827

  • To my amusement is the rather strange attitude of Trek watchers vs DS9 & the Xindi storyline.

    EXTRALIFE – By Scott Johnson - There aint nothing wrong with Enterprise 2007

  • What would we do without humorless, misanthropic, pseudo-intellectuals to scrutinize websites that exist solely for entertainment value and tell us whether or not our amusement is academically and historically justified?

    Doomed to repeat it? Jessica Hagy 2007

  • Yes; and this I term amusement, when doing neither harm nor good in any degree worth speaking of.

    Laws 2006

  • Developers said the robot may be used in amusement parks or to perform simulations of human movement, as an exercise instructor, for instance.

    Archive 2009-03-15 Tyler 2009

  • Developers said the robot may be used in amusement parks or to perform simulations of human movement, as an exercise instructor, for instance.

    Linda Hamilton tried to warn us Tyler 2009

  • It's obvious that the author was having lots of fun writing the story and that amusement is easily infectious.

    REVIEW: Stalking the Dragon by Mike Resnick 2009

  • Peter Singer: There is no excuse for keeping wild animals in amusement parks or circuses.

    No More Zoos « Gerry Canavan 2010

  • My present amusement is writing a Child's Book 'the History of Little Davy's new hat,' dedicated to my Mother, but have sent

    Letter 70 2009

  • Agatha spent more time in amusement and conversation, and were assisted in their labours by servants.

    Chapter 15 2010

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