AMUSEMENT

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

I. (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An activity that is diverting and that holds the attention

Synonyms:

amusement; entertainment

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("amusement" is a kind of...):

diversion; recreation (an activity that diverts or amuses or stimulates)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "amusement"):

beguilement; distraction (an entertainment that provokes pleased interest and distracts you from worries and vexations)

edutainment (entertainment that is intended to be educational)

extravaganza (any lavishly staged or spectacular entertainment)

militainment (entertainment with military themes in which the Department of Defense is celebrated)

night life; nightlife (the entertainment available to people seeking nighttime diversion)

show (the act of publicly exhibiting or entertaining)

Derivation:

amuse (occupy in an agreeable, entertaining or pleasant fashion)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A feeling of delight at being entertained

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Hypernyms ("amusement" is a kind of...):

delectation; delight (a feeling of extreme pleasure or satisfaction)

Derivation:

amuse (make (somebody) laugh)

Credits

Context examples:

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

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

This was in part due to Edgar Taylor, who made the first English translation in 1823, selecting about fifty stories “with the amusement of some young friends principally in view.”

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

When Marianne was recovered, the schemes of amusement at home and abroad, which Sir John had been previously forming, were put into execution.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

Oh dear, but it was brave to see you! she cried, bursting out a-laughing once more, and standing with her hand pressed to her side, and her half-closed eyes twinkling with amusement.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But as to hunting, what amusement can there be in flying about among a crowd of greasy, galloping farmers?

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

And this puts me in mind of an amusement, wherein I spent many of my leisure hours.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

He wheeled round upon his stool, with a steaming test-tube in his hand, and a gleam of amusement in his deep-set eyes.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I was a little startled at the nature of the child’s amusement, but the father’s laughter made me think that perhaps he was joking.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I am inclined now to have a little amusement at his expense.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Martin's philosophy asserted itself, dissipating his anger, and he hung up the receiver with a long whistle of incredulous amusement.