Parents who work from home find it difficult to find activities to occupy their children for more than an hour.
synonyms
fillemploytake up
word origin — Middle English: formed irregularly from Old French occuper, from Latin occupare ‘seize’. A now obsolete vulgar sense ‘have sexual relations with’ seems to have led to the general avoidance of the word in the 17th and most of the 18th century
occupy, sacrifice, prohibit, amuse, differ: meanings and examples
Learn these 5 words from Upper-Intermediate set 75. Each entry includes a definition, example sentence, pronunciation, and synonyms. Use the interactive cards above to practice them.
occupy · verb/ˈɑkjəˌpaɪ/
to keep someone busy or engaged
Parents who work from home find it difficult to find activities to occupy their children for more than an hour.
Synonyms: fill, employ, take up
Origin: Middle English: formed irregularly from Old French occuper, from Latin occupare ‘seize’. A now obsolete vulgar sense ‘have sexual relations with’ seems to have led to the general avoidance of the word in the 17th and most of the 18th century
sacrifice · verb/ˈsækrəˌfaɪs/
to give up something valuable for a more important purpose
There are many examples of successful women in the world who had to sacrifice their career in order to bring up their children.
Synonyms: give up, let go, forgo
Origin: Middle English: from Old French, from Latin sacrificium; related to sacrificus ‘sacrificial’, from sacer ‘holy’
prohibit · verb/prəˈhɪbət/
to officially forbid an activity or action
Although there are laws that prohibit any kind of cruelty to animals, following up the incident is difficult and people cannot be punished for their n-behaviour.
Synonyms: ban, block, constrain
Origin: late Middle English: from Latin prohibit- ‘kept in check’, from the verb prohibere, from pro- ‘in front’ + habere ‘to hold’
amuse · verb/əˈmuz/
to make someone laugh or feel entertained
I find it really funny when adults make silly faces to amuse a baby. It is even more entertaining when the baby does not respond.
Synonyms: cheer, entertain, please
Origin: late 15th century (in the sense ‘delude, deceive’): from Old French amuser ‘entertain, deceive’, from a- (expressing causal effect) + muser ‘stare stupidly’. Current senses date from the mid 17th century
differ · verb/ˈdɪfər/
to be different from each other
People's tastes in cars differ a lot so sometimes you may not understand how much money people spend to buy an old car.
Synonyms: vary, alter, contradict
Origin: late Middle English (also in the sense ‘put off, defer’): from Old French differer ‘differ, defer’, from Latin differre, from dis- ‘from, away’ + ferre ‘bring, carry’. Compare with defer