divertissement
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˌdɪvərˈtɪsmənt/
- Specialized
:
divertimento
- In a striking passage combining a Pascalian critique of divertissement with an "ancient" (Stoic and Christian) perspective on death, Solzhenitsyn writes:
Examples
-
Bellman also wrote another divertissement on 2 November 1789 for Tobias Day, which suggests a terminus post quem non.
Academic text (1996) -
She added that she had never been serviced by a man so small, and mayhap it might make a merry divertissement.
Fiction book (2000) -
On our walks, the street became a divertissement: people to observe or interact with, stores to dive into, posters to read.
Fiction book (2000) -
For example, there exists a beautifully written divertissement with words by Bellman and music by Kraus.
Academic text (1996) -
"There was some question of going off to join his regiment, but his main activity at this juncture was astronomy: 'This is a beautiful divertissement and a superb science.'"
Academic text (2000) -
His gifts were more slowly noticed, but a commission for a one-act divertissement called Proserpin, with a text by Kellgren, called him to the attention of the King, who was always on the lookout for new creative talent.
Academic text (2000) -
Ladies and gentlemen, as an added treat tonight... the proceeds to go to the widow and orphans... or our late bartender, Aloysius O'Malley... who was shot in front of this very door... my little girls are going to give a special performance of our famous classic... Living Statues... an artistic divertissement straight from New York and Paris, France.
-
Really, Harold, it is time you settled down and stopped flitting away your talents on these little amateur theatrics, these little divertissements, no matter how psychologically purging they may be.
-
Pascal's reflections on the misery of man without God suggest that our only consolation is "divertissement," distraction; and yet, Pascal argues, distraction is precisely the greatest of our miseries.
Academic text (1997) -
Last night's concert featured a charming divertissement that captivated the audience and provided a delightful break from the main performance.
Synonyms
858
2.1
Things people do or watch for fun, like a film
539
2.7
A live show of a play, concert, or dance for an audience
61
3.9
An activity that gives people pleasure and takes their mind off worries
44
2.8
An activity that helps you stop thinking about worries
13
4.2
A small show at a fair or circus beside the main event
An activity that pleases and helps you forget your worries
Antonyms
How Entertaining
Surface Forms
Etymology
Divertissement comes from French divertir and Latin divertere, both meaning 'to turn aside', and it is like the English words divert and diversion. So a divertissement is a short, light performance that 'turns' the audience away from the main action as a pleasant break.