OCCUPIED Synonyms: 95 Similar and Opposite Words

occupied 1 of 2

adjective

as in engaged

involved in often constant activity the boy is constantly occupied, usually with sports or schoolwork

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

occupied

2 of 2

verb

past tense of occupy

as in interested

to hold the attention of a puzzle will occupy that child for hours

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of occupied

Adjective

Osder visited Israel and the occupied West Bank and came to understand his heritage with a new sense of privilege and responsibility. — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 31 Aug. 2026 Jerusalem — Israeli settlers stormed a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank on Saturday and seized a home while its owner was inside in the latest brazen settler attack in the area. — Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026 According to Leonid Pasechnik, who heads the occupied Luhansk region, five others were injured across the province. — ABC News, 30 Aug. 2026 Ten years ago, Frank Lowenstein, then the United States special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, presented President Barack Obama with maps of settlements by Israeli Jews in the occupied West Bank. — David D. Kirkpatrick, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2026 Their displays adapt to occupied seats, giving the nearest rider full control while unused screens show trip status or ambient imagery. — Melinda Sheckells, HollywoodReporter, 27 Aug. 2026 Israel sharply criticized the UK after London voiced opposition to the Jewish state’s support for settlements in the occupied West Bank, the latest in a series of rows with once strong Western allies. — Tasneem Nashrulla, semafor.com, 20 Aug. 2026 The tense standoff underscores surging settler violence in the occupied West Bank, where attacks have spiked under Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government and Palestinians report dozens killed so far this year. — Sam Metz, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2026 The family of a Palestinian American man have been under siege in their home in the occupied West Bank. — Frank Langfitt, NPR, 17 Aug. 2026

Verb

But there’s plenty to keep kids occupied here from pool toys and rafts to beachside games like jenga and bocce. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Sep. 2026 These ideas flew over our heads as kids, and we were mostly occupied by the pretty lights and awesome fight scenes. — George Yang, Space.com, 1 Sep. 2026 The complexity of the mind guarantees that generations of scientists to come will be well occupied trying to understand it. — Andrea Gawrylewski, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2026 Princeton, Duke, Harvard, MIT, Dartmouth, Penn, Notre Dame, Cornell, Yale and Stanford occupied the top 10 spots. — Jason St. Angelo, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026 Tippett had occupied the 6,200-square-foot Berkeley facility for 35 years, but as technology evolves, the studio no longer needs the large space. — Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026 Russia overnight shot down 239 Ukrainian drones over 14 Russian regions, occupied Crimea and the waters of the Black Sea, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said Monday. — ABC News, 31 Aug. 2026 In November, The KC Current Shop, selling the women’s soccer team merchandise, took up the long-vacant space at 302 Nichols Road once occupied by Starbucks. — Kansas City Star, 31 Aug. 2026 Israel rejects this, viewing the area as disputed rather than occupied. — Pesha Magid Reuters, Arkansas Online, 30 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for occupied

Adjective

But writing notes by hand requires a more engaged mental filter.

— Rustin Dodd, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
By creating measurable value today, employees become more engaged in their roles.

— Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of engaged

Verb

But what really interested us with this movie was trying to understand the humanity and searching for and exploring the love and the loyalty to characters to have a dialogue with an audience and not do it for the sake of ego or shock.

— Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 9 Aug. 2026
Camerlenghi says Gradara Castle has interested him since his childhood.

— Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 12 July 2026

Definition of interested

Adjective

Then, the Iran war started, resulting in massive disruption to the Strait of Hormuz, once one of the world's busiest oil-shipping lanes.

— Anniek Bao, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2026
Palacios brings plenty to Ipswich with and without the ball, the statement signing in a busy window who could go a long way to keeping them up.

— Thom Harris, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of busy

Adjective

More recently, diligent and passionate biologists, chemists, and experts from other disciplines have used technology for contemporary experiments that reveal a spectrum of plant consciousness.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Aug. 2026
Dark circles happen, acne pops up, and dark spots can even appear despite diligent sunscreen use.

— Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of diligent

Verb

When some of his friends became smokejumpers, he was intrigued.

— M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
Yet some European philosophers were intrigued by the monism of Vedanta philosophy, whereas Evangelical Christians saw the same monism as a foundation for proselytizing Christian monotheism.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of intrigued

Verb

Verify the numbers, name the next step, and let clear facts make the agreement feel safer for everyone involved.

— Tarot.com, The Orlando Sentinel, 29 Aug. 2026
The university asserted that the subpoena would create unnecessary work for the police department, unearth irrelevant documents and waste the time of everyone involved.

— Joaquin Sapien, ProPublica, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of involved

Verb

Cronenberg is fascinated by a body that is taken apart and reimagined.

— Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 28 Aug. 2026
However, rather than the courageous grand duchesses who fought for the freedom of their people far away, the author was fascinated by the suffragette movement of the 1910s.

— Giorgia Olivieri, Vanity Fair, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of fascinated

Browse Nearby Words

occupations

occupied

occupier

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Style

“Occupied.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/occupied. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of occupied

adjective

verb

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