entertain


Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

en·ter·tain

 (ĕn′tər-tān′)
v. en·ter·tained, en·ter·tain·ing, en·ter·tains
v.tr.
1. To hold the attention of (someone) with something amusing or diverting. See Synonyms at amuse.
2. To extend hospitality toward: entertain friends at dinner.
3.
a. To consider; contemplate: entertain an idea.
b. To hold in mind; harbor: entertained few illusions.
4. Archaic To continue with; maintain.
5. Obsolete To employ; hire.
6. Obsolete To give admittance to; receive.
v.intr.
1. To show hospitality to guests.
2. To provide entertainment.

[Middle English entertinen, to maintain, from Old French entretenir, from Medieval Latin intertenēre : Latin inter, among; see inter- + Latin tenēre, to hold; see ten- in Indo-European roots.]

en′ter·tain′er n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

entertain

(ˌɛntəˈteɪn)
vb
1. to provide amusement for (a person or audience)
2. to show hospitality to (guests)
3. (tr) to hold in the mind: to entertain an idea.
[C15: from Old French entretenir, from entre- mutually + tenir to hold, from Latin tenēre]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

en•ter•tain

(ˌɛn tərˈteɪn)

v.t.
1. to hold the attention of pleasantly or agreeably; divert; amuse.
2. to have as a guest; show hospitality to.
3. to admit into the mind; consider: I never entertained such an idea.
4. to hold in the mind; harbor; cherish: to entertain thoughts of revenge.
5. Archaic. to maintain or keep up.
6. Obs. to receive.
v.i.
7. to exercise hospitality; provide entertainment for guests.
[1425–75; late Middle English: to hold mutually < Middle French entretenir « Vulgar Latin *intertenēre= Latin inter- inter- + tenēre to hold]
syn: See amuse.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

entertain


Past participle: entertained
Gerund: entertaining

Imperative
entertain
entertain
Present
I entertain
you entertain
he/she/it entertains
we entertain
you entertain
they entertain
Preterite
I entertained
you entertained
he/she/it entertained
we entertained
you entertained
they entertained
Present Continuous
I am entertaining
you are entertaining
he/she/it is entertaining
we are entertaining
you are entertaining
they are entertaining
Present Perfect
I have entertained
you have entertained
he/she/it has entertained
we have entertained
you have entertained
they have entertained
Past Continuous
I was entertaining
you were entertaining
he/she/it was entertaining
we were entertaining
you were entertaining
they were entertaining
Past Perfect
I had entertained
you had entertained
he/she/it had entertained
we had entertained
you had entertained
they had entertained
Future
I will entertain
you will entertain
he/she/it will entertain
we will entertain
you will entertain
they will entertain
Future Perfect
I will have entertained
you will have entertained
he/she/it will have entertained
we will have entertained
you will have entertained
they will have entertained
Future Continuous
I will be entertaining
you will be entertaining
he/she/it will be entertaining
we will be entertaining
you will be entertaining
they will be entertaining
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been entertaining
you have been entertaining
he/she/it has been entertaining
we have been entertaining
you have been entertaining
they have been entertaining
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been entertaining
you will have been entertaining
he/she/it will have been entertaining
we will have been entertaining
you will have been entertaining
they will have been entertaining
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been entertaining
you had been entertaining
he/she/it had been entertaining
we had been entertaining
you had been entertaining
they had been entertaining
Conditional
I would entertain
you would entertain
he/she/it would entertain
we would entertain
you would entertain
they would entertain
Past Conditional
I would have entertained
you would have entertained
he/she/it would have entertained
we would have entertained
you would have entertained
they would have entertained
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.entertain - provide entertainment for
host - be the host of or for; "We hosted 4 couples last night"
socialise, socialize - take part in social activities; interact with others; "He never socializes with his colleagues"; "The old man hates to socialize"
amuse, disport, divert - occupy in an agreeable, entertaining or pleasant fashion; "The play amused the ladies"
2.entertain - take into consideration, have in viewentertain - take into consideration, have in view; "He entertained the notion of moving to South America"
contemplate - consider as a possibility; "I contemplated leaving school and taking a full-time job"
3.entertain - maintain (a theory, thoughts, or feelings); "bear a grudge"; "entertain interesting notions"; "harbor a resentment"
feel, experience - undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind; "She felt resentful"; "He felt regret"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

entertain

verb
1. amuse, interest, please, delight, occupy, charm, enthral, cheer, divert, recreate (rare), regale, give pleasure to, NtRtain (S.M.S.) He entertained us with anecdotes about his job.
2. show hospitality to, receive, accommodate, treat, put up, lodge, be host to, have company of, invite round, ask round, invite to a meal, ask for a meal, NtRtain (S.M.S.) I don't really like to entertain guests any more.
3. consider, support, maintain, imagine, think about, hold, foster, harbour, contemplate, conceive of, ponder, cherish, bear in mind, keep in mind, think over, muse over, give thought to, cogitate on, allow yourself to consider, NtRtain (S.M.S.) I wouldn't entertain the idea of doing such a job.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

entertain

verb
1. To occupy in an agreeable or pleasing way:
2. To receive (an idea) and take it into consideration:
3. To think or think about carefully and at length:
Idioms: cudgel one's brains, put on one's thinking cap, rack one's brain.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
يَتَلَهّى ، يَحْمِلُ فِكْرَهيَسْتَضيفيُسَلِّييُسَلّي، يُلْهي
bavit
underholdebeværteinviteremorenære
lõbustama
viihdyttää
zabavljati
foglalkozikvendégül lát
ala í brjóstiskemmtataka á móti gestum
楽しませる
대접하다
divertismentasestrados artistaslinksminimaspasikviesti svečiųpasilinksminimas
kavētlolotuzņemt, pacienāt
gostitizabavati
underhålla
ทำให้เพลิดเพลิน
eğlendirmekgönlünde yaşatmakmisafir etmekağırlamakbeslemk
giải trí

entertain

[ˌentəˈteɪn]
A. VT
1. (= amuse) [+ audience] → divertir, entretener
2. (= offer hospitality to) [+ guest] → recibir
to entertain sb to dinner (frm) → invitar a algn a cenar
3. (= consider) [+ idea, hope] → abrigar; [+ proposal] → tomar en consideración; [+ doubts] → albergar
I wouldn't entertain it for a momentjamás se me ocurriría tal cosa
B. VI
1. (= amuse) [book, film, performer] → entretener
2. (= have visitors) → recibir visitas
they entertain a good dealreciben muchos invitados
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

entertain

[ˌɛntərˈteɪn]
vt
(= provide amusement for) [+ person] → amuser, divertir
(= invite) [+ guest] → recevoir
to entertain sb to dinner → recevoir qn à dîner
[+ idea, plan] → envisager; [+ doubts] → nourrir
virecevoir
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

entertain

vt
(= offer hospitality to)einladen; (to meal) → bewirten; to entertain somebody to dinnerjdn zum Essen einladen
(= amuse)unterhalten; (humorously, with jokes) → belustigen
thought, intentionsich tragen mit; suspicion, doubthegen; hopenähren; suggestion, proposal, offer, possibilityin Erwägung ziehen
vi
(= have visitors)Gäste haben
(comedian, conjurer etc)unterhalten
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

entertain

[ˌɛntəˈteɪn]
1. vt
a. (audience) → divertire; (guest) → intrattenere, ricevere
to entertain sb to dinner → invitare qn a cena
b. (consider, idea, proposal, plan) → prendere in considerazione; (hopes, doubts) → nutrire
2. vi (have visitors) → avere ospiti
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

entertain

(entəˈtein) verb
1. to receive, and give food etc to (guests). They entertained us to dinner.
2. to amuse. His stories entertained us for hours.
3. to hold in the mind. He entertained the hope that he would one day be Prime Minister.
enterˈtainer noun
one who gives amusing performances professionally.
ˌenterˈtaining adjective
amusing. entertaining stories.
ˌenterˈtainment noun
1. something that entertains, eg a theatrical show etc.
2. the act of entertaining.
3. amusement; interest. There is no lack of entertainment in the city at night.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

entertain

يُسَلِّي bavit underholde unterhalten ψυχαγωγώ entretener viihdyttää amuser zabavljati divertire 楽しませる 대접하다 amuseren underholde zabawić entreter развлекать underhålla ทำให้เพลิดเพลิน eğlendirmek giải trí 娱乐
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
References in classic literature ?
Besides, fictitious narratives lead us to imagine the possibility of many events that are impossible; and even the most faithful histories, if they do not wholly misrepresent matters, or exaggerate their importance to render the account of them more worthy of perusal, omit, at least, almost always the meanest and least striking of the attendant circumstances; hence it happens that the remainder does not represent the truth, and that such as regulate their conduct by examples drawn from this source, are apt to fall into the extravagances of the knight-errants of romance, and to entertain projects that exceed their powers.
There are few men who would not feel much less zeal in the discharge of a duty when they were conscious that the advantages of the station with which it was connected must be relinquished at a determinate period, than when they were permitted to entertain a hope of obtaining, by meriting, a continuance of them.
Although much remains obscure, and will long remain obscure, I can entertain no doubt, after the most deliberate study and dispassionate judgment of which I am capable, that the view which most naturalists entertain, and which I formerly entertained--namely, that each species has been independently created--is erroneous.
consider that a few weeks will at once put an end to every flattering Hope that you may now entertain, by uniting the unfortunate Victim of her father's Cruelty to the execrable and detested Graham."
"Count," said Villefort, "we will not entertain you any longer with our family misfortunes.
The emperor had a mind one day to entertain me with several of the country shows, wherein they exceed all nations I have known, both for dexterity and magnificence.
But with Wingrave's yacht to entertain on, we must do something for a few of the people.
By us ordinary mortals of a mediocre animus that is only too anxious to pass by wicked giants for so many honest windmills, adventures are entertained like visiting angels.
Under the guidance of her Christian pastors, she entertained herself, besides, with such humane achievements as sentencing a youth to have his hands cut off, his tongue torn out with pincers, and his body burned alive, because he had not kneeled down in the rain to do honour to a dirty procession of monks which passed within his view, at a distance of some fifty or sixty yards.
The latter are abundantly amusing, and, in view of the wonderful "travellers' tales" with which we have been entertained by African explorers, they can scarcely be considered extravagant; while the ingenuity and invention of the author will be sure to excite the surprise and the admiration of the reader, who will find M.
A WIDOW weeping on her husband's grave was approached by an Engaging Gentleman who, in a respectful manner, assured her that he had long entertained for her the most tender feelings.
Now and then she invited members of it to her house if they showed an appreciation of her talent and entertained with proper lavishness.