en·gag·ing

[en-gey-jing]

Origin:
1665–75; engage + -ing2

en·gag·ing·ly, adverb
en·gag·ing·ness, noun
qua·si-en·gag·ing, adjective
qua·si-en·gag·ing·ly, adverb
un·en·gag·ing, adjective


charming, agreeable.
Dictionary.com Unabridged

en·gage

[en-geyj] verb, en·gaged, en·gag·ing.
verb (used with object)
1.
to occupy the attention or efforts of (a person or persons): He engaged her in conversation.
2.
to secure for aid, employment, use, etc.; hire: to engage a worker; to engage a room.
3.
to attract and hold fast: The novel engaged her attention and interest.
4.
to attract or please: His good nature engages everyone.
5.
to bind, as by pledge, promise, contract, or oath; make liable: He engaged himself to repay his debt within a month.
6.
to betroth (usually used in the passive): They were engaged last week.
7.
to bring (troops) into conflict; enter into conflict with: Our army engaged the enemy.
8.
Mechanics. to cause (gears or the like) to become interlocked; interlock with.
9.
to attach or secure.
10.
Obsolete. to entangle or involve.
verb (used without object)
11.
to occupy oneself; become involved: to engage in business or politics.
12.
to take employment: She engaged in her mother's business.
13.
to pledge one's word; assume an obligation: I was unwilling to engage on such terms.
14.
to cross weapons; enter into conflict: The armies engaged early in the morning.
15.
Mechanics. (of gears or the like) to interlock.

Origin:
1515–25; < Middle French engager, Old French engagier. See en-1, gage1

en·gag·er, noun


1. absorb, engross, interest, involve.


2. discharge. 8. release.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To engaging
00:10
Engaging is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
Collins
World English Dictionary
engage (ɪnˈɡeɪdʒ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
vb
1.  to secure the services of; employ
2.  to secure for use; reserve: engage a room
3.  to involve (a person or his attention) intensely; engross; occupy
4.  to attract (the affection) of (a person): her innocence engaged him
5.  to draw (somebody) into conversation
6.  (intr) to take part; participate: he engages in many sports
7.  to promise (to do something)
8.  (also intr) military to begin an action with (an enemy)
9.  to bring (a mechanism) into operation: he engaged the clutch
10.  (also intr) to undergo or cause to undergo interlocking, as of the components of a driving mechanism, such as a gear train
11.  machinery to locate (a locking device) in its operative position or to advance (a tool) into a workpiece to commence cutting
 
[C15: from Old French engagier, from en-1 + gage a pledge, see gage1]
 
en'gager
 
n

engagé (ɑ̃ɡaʒe) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
(of a writer or artist, esp a man) morally or politically committed to some ideology

engaging (ɪnˈɡeɪdʒɪŋ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
pleasing, charming, or winning
 
en'gagingly
 
adv
 
en'gagingness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

engage
early 15c., from M.Fr. engagier, from O.Fr. en gage "under pledge," from en "make" + gage "pledge," through Frankish from P.Gmc. *wadiare "pledge" (showing the common evolution of Gmc. -w- to Fr. -g-; cf. Guillaume from Wilhelm). Specific sense of "promise to marry" first recorded 1727. Related: Engaged.

engaging
interesting, 1670s, prp. adj. from engage.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Greg has created not only a scientific tool, but also a major collaborative research program engaging scientists worldwide.
Sometimes claymation is used to create engaging and detailed characters who seem, in some ways, more alive than living creatures.
Engaging and humorous, it's a view of the animal kingdom that the whole family
  can enjoy together.
Promoting the value and importance of service on campus and reducing barriers
  that inhibit students from engaging in service.
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