absorbing

absorbing

English

Etymology

absorb +‎ -ing

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /əbˈzɔː.bɪŋ/, /əbˈsɔː.bɪŋ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /æbˈzɔɹ.bɪŋ/, /æbˈsɔɹ.bɪŋ/, /əbˈzɔɹ.bɪŋ/, /əbˈsɔɹ.bɪŋ/

• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -ɔː(r)bɪŋ

Adjective

absorbing (comparative more absorbing, superlative most absorbing)

1. Engrossing, that sustains someone's interest. [First attested in the mid 18^th century.][1]

   An absorbing pursuit.

   • 2011 October 29, Neil Johnston, “Norwich 3 - 3 Blackburn”, in BBC Sport‎:

     It was a dramatic finish to an absorbing, fast-paced game but Blackburn will be deeply unhappy with referee Anthony Taylor as Nzonzi's handball was harsh.

2. (statistics, of a state) Allowing a process to enter it, but not to leave it.

Synonyms

• engrossing
• fascinating
• See also Thesaurus:exciting

Translations

engrossing

Bulgarian: поглъщащ (bg) (poglǎštašt), увлекателен (bg) (uvlekatelen) Dutch: boeiend (nl), grijpend (nl) meeslepend (nl) Finnish: mukaansatempaava Indonesian: penyerap (id) Interlingua: absorbente

Portuguese: absorvente (pt) Russian: увлека́тельный (ru) m (uvlekátelʹnyj) Spanish: absorbente (es) Volapük: änüsugön

math: of a state

Verb

absorbing

1. present participle of absorb

References

1. “absorbing” in Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief; William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors, The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford; New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 2002, →ISBN, page 9.