These words have to do with activity that draws the attention and makes time pass agreeably. To entertain , either oneself or others, is to provide some occupation that will afford pleasure or relive monotony or boredom. Entertainment may be simple and personal at one extreme, or formal and public at the other, ranging from short-term distraction and private hospitality to large parties and theatrical performances: a child entertaining himself with his building blocks; to entertain out-of-town guests; a comedian and his travelling troupe entertaining servicemen overseas. Entertaining someone implies the putting forth of active effort: Let me entertain you; an entertaining show. Amuse , by contrast, focuses on response: an amusing book; The queen is not amused . To amuse a person is to affect him in such a way that he is put or kept in a pleasant mood. In a non-specific sense, amuse can suggest any form of distraction that emphasizes light entertainment , pointing to something that brings a smile or laugh or that is thought of as fun. A person may be amused by a clever thought of his own, a bizarre sight, a game, a story, an evening’s entertainment. But a performance of a Greek tragedy, which can entertain an audience by holding their attention and affording them aesthetic satisfaction, would not be said to amuse .

Divert is close to amuse but stresses the fact that the amusement is not constant but is a temporary form of escapism. To divert is to draw the mind away from serious thoughts or pursuits, distracting the attention from work, worry, pain or commonplace concerns and focusing it on pleasure: a diverting comedy.

• An evening out may divert an over-worked housewife; The student set aside one night a week for diversion .

Interest is the most general of these words. To interest someone is to excite or hold his curiosity or attention, for whatever reason.

• A psychopath interest a psychologist; The student found the lecture interesting .

But the specific sense in which interest compares with the other words in this set involves an awakening of attention by some entertaining expedient: The showing of slides interested the dozing student, and he sat up and took notice.