Absorbed

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /æbˈsɔɹbd/

Definitions

1. Fully engrossed or paying close attention to something ; taken in or soaked up a substance like liquid or light ; combined or merged into something else, losing separate identity
2. Intensely focused or captivated by an activity or thought ; having absorbed moisture, energy, or information ; united with or incorporated into a larger whole or system
3. Showing complete involvement or concentration ; having drawn in and retained a material or impression ; assimilated or integrated into a different entity or structure

Etymology: The verb "absorb" reaches English through a chain of Latin and French forms, and its ancestry runs back to a pair of roots meaning "away" and "to swallow" or "suck in." Latin combined "ab-", meaning "away from," with "sorbeō," "to suck up" or "swallow," and the resulting "absorbeō" carried the sense of taking something in completely. Old French turned it into "assorbir," and Middle French produced "absorber," from which English took the verb. The adjective here is simply the past-participle form of that verb, with the ending "-ed" added to "absorb." Its sense of being wholly engrossed in something grew naturally from the older idea of being soaked up or drawn in, the way a sponge takes in water. A person who is absorbed in a book has, in effect, been taken in by it.

Synonyms: engrossed, immersed, preoccupied, involved, consumed

Antonyms: distracted, detached, disinterested, unconcerned, aloof