Amuse Definition

ə-myo͝oz

amused, amuses, amusing

verb

amused, amuses, amusing

To hold the attention of or occupy in an agreeable fashion.

Amused myself with a puzzle.

American Heritage

To keep pleasantly or enjoyably occupied or interested; entertain.

We amused ourselves with games.

Webster's New World

To cause to laugh or smile by being funny.

Amused the crowd with jokes.

American Heritage

To make laugh, smile, etc. by being comical or humorous.

Webster's New World

To delude or deceive.

American Heritage

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

Origin of Amuse

From Middle English amusen (“to mutter, be astonished, gaze meditatively on”), from Middle French amuser (“to amuse, divert, babble”), 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 Proto-Romance *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”).

From Wiktionary
Alternative etymology connects Old French muser and Occitan musa with Old Frankish *muoza (“careful attention, leisure, idleness”), from Proto-Germanic *mōtǭ (“leave, permission”), from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to acquire, possess, control”). Cognate with Old High German *muoza (“careful attention, leisure, idleness”), Old High German muozōn (“to be idle, have leisure or opportunity”), German Muße (“leisure”). More at empty.

From Wiktionary
From Old French amuser to stupefy a- to (from Latin ad- ad–) muser to stare stupidly muse

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition