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Glite Dictionary
to keep entertained

to keep entertained

3.2
Make someone feel interested or amused for a while
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : mantener entretenido
  • To keep myself entertained while waiting for my train, I read a book and listened to music.

Examples

  • If you bring kids to a restaurant, even babies, they need to be kept entertained and quiet; if they cannot be kept happy, then you need to leave.

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  • During the rainy weekend, we watched movies and played board games to keep each other entertained.

  • To keep the children entertained during the flight, I packed some games and coloring books.

Synonyms

to entertain
vsto keep entertained
226 2.0

Make people laugh or enjoy themselves

sustains interest or amusement over a period rather than brief enjoyment
to keep someone hooked
vsto keep entertained
  • Informal
1 4.6

Make someone want to keep watching or reading

is less intense, aiming to provide steady amusement rather than deep absorption

Antonyms

to bore
15 1.4

To make someone feel tired or not interested by being dull when you speak

disinterest
5 5.8

Not feeling interested in something, like a talk or task

How Entertaining

to enthrall
20 6.8
to amuse
153 1.4
to keep entertained
3.2
to interest
206 1.0
to bore
15 1.4

Surface Forms

keep entertained infinitive
keeping entertained present participle
keeps entertained third person singular
kept entertained past
kept entertained past participle

Morphology

keep + entertained

The sense is directly compositional: 'keep' meaning to maintain or continue combined with 'entertained' meaning amused or interested yields 'maintain someone’s amusement/interest'. This verb + adjective construction is a common, transparent pattern across languages and would be readily inferable by a B1 learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

Keep entertained may come from the image of a host who keeps a puppet show or game going so guests do not get bored and stay smiling. So, it now means 'to keep someone interested or amused' for a period of time.