AMUSE
What does "AMUSE" mean?
To make someone laugh or smile; to provide enjoyment.
Meanings
- To cause someone to find something funny; to entertain. The puppy's clumsy leaps amused the whole room.
- To keep someone pleasantly occupied. She amused herself with crosswords during the long flight.
Did you know?
- 'Amuse' first meant to distract, bewilder, or even deceive someone - not to make them laugh; the cheerful 'entertain' sense is the newcomer, and the old idea of 'pleasantly diverting' survives in the small starter dish called an amuse-bouche.
Word origin
From French 'amuser' (to divert, to cause to muse), built from 'a-' (to) plus 'muser' (to stare idly, ponder); the older English sense was 'to distract or bewilder', and the lighter 'entertain' sense came later.
Remember it
AMUSE shares the heart of MUSE: a thought that diverts you - originally 'to make you muse', now 'to make you smile'.
A little poem
The grave clerk cracks first-
one absurd typo undoes
the whole afternoon.
haiku
Wordplay
- I tried to entertain the muses but they just stared idly into space - turns out I'd only managed to a-muse them.
What it teaches
To amuse another is a small mercy; laughter is the lightest thing we can hand to someone heavy.
Quick facts
What does AMUSE mean?
To make someone laugh or smile; to provide enjoyment.
Is AMUSE a valid word?
Yes — AMUSE is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is AMUSE?
AMUSE has 5 letters and 2 syllables.
Where does AMUSE come from?
From French 'amuser' (to divert, to cause to muse), built from 'a-' (to) plus 'muser' (to stare idly, ponder); the older English sense was 'to distract or bewilder', and the lighter 'entertain' sense came later.
What can AMUSE teach us?
To amuse another is a small mercy; laughter is the lightest thing we can hand to someone heavy.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.