interesting


Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Financial, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

in·ter·est·ing

 (ĭn′trĭ-stĭng, -tər-ĭ-stĭng, -tə-rĕs′tĭng)
adj.
Arousing or holding the attention; absorbing.

in′ter·est·ing·ly adv.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

interesting

(ˈɪntrɪstɪŋ; -tərɪs-)
adj
inspiring interest; absorbing
ˈinterestingly adv
ˈinterestingness n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

in•ter•est•ing

(ˈɪn tər ə stɪŋ, -trə stɪŋ, -təˌrɛs tɪŋ)

adj.
engaging or exciting and holding the attention or curiosity: an interesting book.
[1705–15]
in′ter•est•ing•ly, adv.
in′ter•est•ing•ness, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

interested

interesting
1. 'interested'

If you want to know more about something or someone, you can say that you are interested in them.

I am very interested in politics.
Kanako seemed genuinely interested in him and his work.

Be Careful!
Don't use any preposition except in after interested.

If you want to do something, you can say that you are interested in doing it.

I was interested in visiting different parts of the world.
We're only interested in finding out the facts.

Be Careful!
Don't say that you are 'interested to do' something.

2. 'interesting'

Do not confuse interested with interesting. If someone or something is interesting, they have qualities which make you want to know more about them.

I've met some very interesting people.
There are some interesting old buildings in the village.

Be Careful!
Don't use 'interesting' to describe things which make a lot of money. For example, 'an interesting job' is one that is enjoyable because it makes you feel interested, not one in which you earn a large salary. For a job that earns a lot of money, use well-paid.

People with university degrees usually end up with well-paid jobs.
Looking after children is not usually very well-paid.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adj.1.interesting - arousing or holding the attention
exciting - creating or arousing excitement; "an exciting account of her trip"
stimulating - rousing or quickening activity or the senses; "a stimulating discussion"
uninteresting - arousing no interest or attention or curiosity or excitement; "a very uninteresting account of her trip"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

interesting

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
zajímavý
interessant
interesa
mielenkiintoinenkiinnostavakiintoisa
zanimljiv
érdekes
áhugaverîurathyglisverður
興味深い面白い
흥미 있는
interesant
zaujímavý
zanimiv
intressant
น่าสนใจ
thú vị

interesting

[ˈɪntrɪstɪŋ] ADJinteresante
it is interesting thates interesante el hecho de que
it was interesting for meme pareció interesante
that's an interesting pointése es un punto interesante
it will be interesting to see what happensserá interesante ver lo que ocurre
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

interesting

[ˈɪntərɛstɪŋ] adjintéressant(e)
a very interesting book → un livre très intéressant
That's an interesting question → C'est une question intéressante.
by far the most interesting → de loin le plus intéressant or la plus intéressante
His third album is by far his most interesting → Son troisième album est de loin le plus intéressant.
it is interesting that ... → il est intéressant de voir que ...
It is interesting that no one can supply a satisfactory answer to this question → Il est intéressant de voir que personne ne peut donner une réponse satisfaisante à cette question.
It will be interesting to see how he reacts → Il sera intéressant de voir comment il réagira.
It will be interesting to see what her reaction is → Il sera intéressant de voir sa réaction.
It was interesting to see him at work → C'était intéressant de le voir au travail.
It was interesting to be in a different environment → C'était intéressant de se retrouver dans un environnement différent.
interesting to watch → intéressant à regarder
The characters are interesting to watch → Les personnages sont intéressants à regarder.
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

interesting

adjinteressant; the interesting thing about it is that …das Interessante daran ist, dass …; she’s in an interesting condition (euph)sie ist in anderen Umständen
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

interesting

[ˈɪntrɪstɪŋ] adjinteressante
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

interest

(ˈintrəst) , ((American) ˈintərist) noun
1. curiosity; attention. That newspaper story is bound to arouse interest.
2. a matter, activity etc that is of special concern to one. Gardening is one of my main interests.
3. money paid in return for borrowing a usually large sum of money. The (rate of) interest on this loan is eight per cent; (also adjective) the interest rate.
4. (a share in the ownership of) a business firm etc. He bought an interest in the night-club.
5. a group of connected businesses which act together to their own advantage. I suspect that the scheme will be opposed by the banking interest (= all the banks acting together).
verb
1. to arouse the curiosity and attention of; to be of importance or concern to. Political arguments don't interest me at all.
2. (with in) to persuade to do, buy etc. Can I interest you in (buying) this dictionary?
ˈinterested adjective
1. (often with in) showing attention or having curiosity. He's not interested in politics; Don't tell me any more – I'm not interested; I'll be interested to see what happens next week.
2. (often with in) willing, or wanting, to do, buy etc. Are you interested in (buying) a second-hand car?
3. personally involved in a particular business, project etc and therefore likely to be anxious about decisions made regarding it. You must consult the other interested parties (= the other people involved).
ˈinteresting (negative uninteresting) adjective
an interesting book.
ˈinterestingly adverb
in one's (own) interest
bringing, or in order to bring, advantage, benefit, help etc to oneself etc. It would be in our own interest to help him, as he may be able to help us later.
in the interest(s) of
in order to get, achieve, increase etc. The political march was banned in the interests of public safety.
lose interest
to stop being interested. He used to be very active in politics, but he's lost interest now.
take an interest
to be interested. I take a great interest in everything they do.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

interesting

مُشَوِّق zajímavý interessant interessant ενδιαφέρων interesante mielenkiintoinen intéressant zanimljiv interessante 興味深い 흥미 있는 interessant interessant interesujący interessante интересный intressant น่าสนใจ ilgi çekici thú vị 有意思的
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
Collins Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
References in classic literature ?
A zeal for different opinions concerning religion, concerning government, and many other points, as well of speculation as of practice; an attachment to different leaders ambitiously contending for pre-eminence and power; or to persons of other descriptions whose fortunes have been interesting to the human passions, have, in turn, divided mankind into parties, inflamed them with mutual animosity, and rendered them much more disposed to vex and oppress each other than to co-operate for their common good.
The subject speaks its own importance; comprehending in its consequences nothing less than the existence of the UNION, the safety and welfare of the parts of which it is composed, the fate of an empire in many respects the most interesting in the world.
It occurred to me that a work of this kind might comprise a variety of those curious details, so interesting to me, illustrative of the fur trade; of its remote and adventurous enterprises, and of the various people, and tribes, and castes, and characters, civilized and savage, affected by its operations.