absorbing, engrossing, fascinating, gripping, riveting
(adjective) capable of arousing and holding the attention; “a fascinating story”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
engrossing
present participle of engross
engrossing (comparative more engrossing, superlative most engrossing)
Utterly consuming one's time and attention.
• absorbing
• fascinating
engrossing (plural engrossings)
The act of one who engrosses, or buys up wholesale.
• grossening
Source: Wiktionary
En*gross", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Engrossed; p. pr. & vb. n. Engrossing.] Etym: [F., fr. pref. en- (L. in) + gros gross, grosse, n., an engrossed document: cf. OF. engrossir, engroissier, to make thick, large, or gross. See Gross.]
1. To make gross, thick, or large; to thicken; to increase in bulk or quantity. [Obs.] Waves . . . engrossed with mud. Spenser. Not sleeping, to engross his idle body. Shak.
2. To amass. [Obs.] To engross up glorious deeds on my behalf. Shak.
3. To copy or write in a large hand (en gross, i. e., in large); to write a fair copy of in distinct and legible characters; as, to engross a deed or like instrument on parchment. Some period long past, when clerks engrossed their stiff and formal chirography on more substantial materials. Hawthorne. Laws that may be engrossed on a finger nail. De Quincey.
4. To seize in the gross; to take the whole of; to occupy wholly; to absorb; as, the subject engrossed all his thoughts.
5. To purchase either the whole or large quantities of, for the purpose of enhancing the price and making a profit; hence, to take or assume in undue quantity, proportion, or degree; as, to engross commodities in market; to engross power. Engrossed bill (Legislation), one which has been plainly engrossed on parchment, with all its amendments, preparatory to final action on its passage.
– Engrossing hand (Penmanship), a fair, round style of writing suitable for engrossing legal documents, legislative bills, etc.
Syn.
– To absorb; swallow up; imbibe; consume; exhaust; occupy; forestall; monopolize. See Absorb.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
4 April 2025
(verb) kill by cutting the head off with a guillotine; “The French guillotined many Vietnamese while they occupied the country”
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
