English Reference
adjective

amused

adj.
US /əmˈjuzd/ UK /ɐmjˈuːsd/ amused

  1. 01 B1 Intermediate

    feeling that something is funny or makes you want to smile.

    experiencing or expressing a sense of humor or mild entertainment. Often used with the preposition 'by' or 'at'.

    Simple

    She looked at the cat's silly face with an amused smile.

    In context

    The professor seemed quietly amused by the student's creative, if slightly inaccurate, explanation for the missing homework.

    Pitfall
    The joke was very amused. The joke was very amusing.

    Use 'amused' to describe how a person feels, and 'amusing' to describe the thing that makes them feel that way.

  2. 02 B2 Upper Intermediate

    showing by your expression that you think something is funny.

    manifesting amusement through facial expressions or gestures.

    Simple

    He gave her an amused look when she tried to dance.

    In context

    An amused glint in his eyes suggested that he was not nearly as offended by the remark as he pretended to be.

    stony faced

From amuse + -ed.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level B1 · Intermediate
Frequency Frequent
Updated