amused

Amused is an adjective describing a person or their expression when they are entertained or when something elicits amusement. It is also the past participle of the verb amuse, which means to entertain or to cause someone to find something funny or interesting. In use, amused describes the reaction rather than the source of amusement; for example, “The audience looked amused” or “She seemed amused by the magician’s tricks.”

Etymology: The word originates from Old French amuser, from a- (“to”) + muser (“to muse”), and entered English in the Middle Ages. The sense of entertaining or diverting developed in later use.

As a cross-linguistic concept, “amused” is often contrasted with “amusing”—the latter describes something that causes amusement; “bemused” means puzzled or bewildered rather than entertained. Common collocations include “amused smile,” “be amused by,” and “look amused.”

Related terms include amusement (the state or experience of being entertained) and amusing (capable of entertaining). The noun form “amusement” is used to refer to activities or places designed for entertainment, such as amusement parks or games. Usage tends to emphasize the subject’s reaction (amused) rather than the thing causing the reaction (amusing).