-jmənt noun
( -s )
1.
a. : the act of engaging or state of being engaged : a pledging or pledged state : involvement , attachment
b. : betrothal
2.
a. : something that engages (as an engrossing occupation, an obligation)
his engagements kept him very busy
b. : prepossession , bias : favorable attachment
religion, which is the chief engagement of our league — John Milton
3.
a. : a promise to be present at a specified time and place : appointment
a previous engagement
b. : employment especially by contract for a stated time
an engagement as leading lady
4. engagements plural : pecuniary liabilities : obligations
5. : the act of crossing fencing blades in any of the eight positions
6. : the state of being in gear or in such contact that motion may be transmitted
one part of a clutch is brought into engagement with the other part
7. : the phase of parturition in which the fetal head passes into the pelvic canal
8.
a. : hostile encounter between military forces
forces … reported small patrol engagements during the day — New York Times
b. : a duel or other single combat
Synonyms:
engagement , appointment , rendezvous , tryst , assignation , date can apply, in common, to an agreement or commitment to be in a specific place at a specific time for a specified purpose. engagement is the general term interchangeable in basic meaning with any of the rest
his engagement with the duke — F.M.Stenton
an engagement with the doctor at 2 p.m.
an engagement to meet secretly after dark
appointment applies chiefly to an engagement with someone, as a doctor or executive, who must apportion his time in order to meet all commitments
an appointment with the dentist
an appointment to see the governor
an appointment with fate
rendezvous , now commonly an agreed-upon meeting or meeting place, can still signify a pledge, often implicit, to meet someone or something usually at a specific place and time which honor makes inescapable
I have a rendezvous with Death — Alan Seeger
this generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny — F.D.Roosevelt
tryst , now chiefly poetic, applies generally to a lovers' agreement to meet at a particular place or time
young women kept trysts with their beaux here — American Guide Series: North Carolina
An assignation is commonly a tryst but is usually illicit or clandestine
make assignations for them with ladies of the street — G.B.Shaw
date is interchangeable with but more current in speech than engagement , often suggesting a more casual agreement especially between young men and women
remembering suddenly he had a riding date with the major's wife at 12:30 — James Jones
she has a date with a boy