Meaning & use
interested
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Feeling curiosity, concern, or attention about a subject, activity, or person.
Grammar: Usually predicative: be interested in; can be before a noun in phrases like interested readers.
Patterns
- interested in something/someone
- interested to hear/learn
- become interested in something
Mia is interested in learning sign language.
I would be interested to hear your decision.
adjectivebefore a nounformallegalbusiness
Having a personal stake or involvement in a matter.
Grammar: Mostly attributive in fixed phrases such as interested party, not usually after the verb.
Patterns
- an interested party
- interested groups
- interested members
Each interested party received a copy of the report.
The city asked interested groups to submit comments by Friday.
Word forms
| comparative | more interested |
|---|---|
| superlative | most interested |
Common combinations
- interested in
- He became interested in photography during college.
- genuinely interested
- The doctor seemed genuinely interested in her recovery.
- interested party
- All interested parties must sign the agreement.
Synonyms and how they differ
- curious
- Curious emphasizes wanting to know; interested is broader and can include concern or involvement.
- keen
- Keen is informal British for strongly interested or eager; interested is neutral.
- attentive
- Attentive stresses careful attention to a person or details, not always curiosity.
Opposites
Word family
- interest noun
- Curiosity, concern, or a benefit in something.
- interest verb
- To attract someone's curiosity or concern.
- interesting adjective
- Causing interest in others.
- disinterested adjective
- Impartial; also often misused to mean uninterested.
Commonly confused: interested or interesting? interested or disinterested?
interested vs interesting
Interested describes the person who feels curiosity; interesting describes the thing that causes it.
interested vs disinterested
Disinterested usually means impartial; uninterested means not interested.
Practice
We are interested ___ hearing more about the project.
Choose one answer.
The adjective interested is followed by in plus a noun or gerund: interested in hearing. For and with do not take this gerund pattern here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “interested”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.