Articles
Entertaiment has been programmatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage of the word. It does not reflect the opinions of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Entertainment has become a highly variable activity, ranging from the individual who selects a private entertainment from an enormous range of pre-recorded products to entertain themselves, to a dinner party adapted for two, to performances for thousands. Most of these entertainments are associated with amusement, although many have a serious purpose such as religious festival or satire.
Oliver and Barstsch (2010) define entertainment as an activity understood objectively, communicated from text to audience, involving external stimulus, off ering pleasure, requiring an audience to exist and occurring in a passive form.