Definition of AMUSE

amuse

Verb

Verb Forms: amused, amusing, amuses

  • To entertain someone in a light, playful way.
  • occupy in an agreeable, entertaining or pleasant fashion
    • "The play amused the ladies"
  • make (somebody) laugh
    • "The clown amused the children"
  • To entertain or occupy (someone or something) in a pleasant manner; to stir (someone) with pleasing emotions.
  • To cause laughter or amusement; to be funny.
  • To keep in expectation; to beguile; to delude.
  • To occupy or engage the attention of; to lose in deep thought; to absorb; also, to distract; to bewilder.

Examples

  • His jokes rarely fail to amuse me.
  • I watch these movies because they amuse me.
  • It always amuses me to hear the funny stories why people haven't got a ticket, but I never let them get in without paying.
  • It never ceases to amuse me when my opponent misses a bingo.

Origin / Etymology

From Late Middle English *amusen (“to mutter, be astonished, gaze meditatively on”), from Old French amuser (“to stupefy, waste time, be lost in thought”), from a- + muser (“to stare stupidly at, gape, wander, waste time, loiter, think carefully about, attend to”), of uncertain and obscure origin. Cognate with Occitan musa (“idle waiting”), Italian musare (“to gape idly about”). Possibly from Old French *mus (“snout”) from Vulgar Latin *mūsa (“snout”) — compare Medieval Latin mūsum (“muzzle, snout”) –, from Proto-Germanic *mū- (“muzzle, snout”), from Proto-Indo-European *mū- (“lips, muzzle”). Compare North Frisian müs, mös (“mouth”), German Maul (“muzzle, snout”).
Alternative etymology connects muser and musa with Frankish *muoza (“careful attention, leisure, idleness”), from Proto-Germanic *mōtǭ (“leave, permission”), from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to acquire, possess, control”).
This would make it a cognate of Dutch musen (“to leisure”), Old High German *muoza (“careful attention, leisure, idleness”) and muozōn (“to be idle, have leisure or opportunity”), German Muße (“leisure”). More at empty.

Scrabble Score: 7

amuse: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
amuse: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
amuse: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 9

amuse: valid Words With Friends Word