 4 definitions found
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
interest
noun
1: a sense of concern with and curiosity about someone or
something; "an interest in music" [syn: {involvement}]
2: the power of attracting or holding one's interest (because
it is unusual or exciting etc.); "they said nothing of
great interest"; "primary colors can add interest to a
room" [syn: {interestingness}] [ant: {uninterestingness}]
3: a reason for wanting something done; "for your sake"; "died
for the sake of his country"; "in the interest of safety";
"in the common interest" [syn: {sake}]
4: a fixed charge for borrowing money; usually a percentage of
the amount borrowed; "how much interest do you pay on your
mortgage?"
5: a diversion that occupies one's time and thoughts (usually
pleasantly); "sailing is her favorite pastime"; "his main
pastime is gambling"; "he counts reading among his
interests"; "they criticized the boy for his limited
pursuits" [syn: {pastime}, {pursuit}]
6: (law) a right or legal share of something; a financial
involvement with something; "they have interests all over
the world"; "a stake in the company's future" [syn: {stake}]
7: (usually plural) a social group whose members control some
field of activity and who have common aims; "the iron
interests stepped up production" [syn: {interest group}]
verb
1: excite the curiosity of; engage the interest of [ant: {bore}]
2: be on the mind of; "I worry about the second Germanic
consonant" [syn: {concern}, {occupy}, {worry}]
3: be of importance or consequence; "This matters to me!" [syn:
{matter to}]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Interest \In"ter*est\, noun [OF. interest, F. int['e]r[^e]t, fr.
L. interest it interests, is of interest, fr. interesse to be
between, to be difference, to be importance; inter between +
esse to be; cf. LL. interesse usury. See {Essence}.]
1. Excitement of feeling, whether pleasant or painful,
accompanying special attention to some object; concern; a
desire to learn more about a topic or engage often in an
activity.
[1913 Webster +PJC]
Note: Interest expresses mental excitement of various kinds
and degrees. It may be intellectual, or sympathetic and
emotional, or merely personal; as, an interest in
philosophical research; an interest in human suffering;
the interest which an avaricious man takes in money
getting.
So much interest have I in thy sorrow. --Shak.
2. (Finance, Commerce) Participation in advantage, profit,
and responsibility; share; portion; part; as, an interest
in a brewery; he has parted with his interest in the
stocks.
3. Advantage, personal or general; good, regarded as a
selfish benefit; profit; benefit.
Divisions hinder the common interest and public
good. --Sir W.
Temple.
When interest calls of all her sneaking train.
--Pope.
4. (Finance) A fee paid for the use of money; a fee paid for
a loan; -- usually reckoned as a percentage; as, interest
at five per cent per annum on ten thousand dollars.
They have told their money, and let out
Their coin upon large interest. --Shak.
5. Any excess of advantage over and above an exact equivalent
for what is given or rendered.
You shall have your desires with interest. --Shak.
6. The persons interested in any particular business or
measure, taken collectively; as, the iron interest; the
cotton interest.
{Compound interest}, interest, not only on the original
principal, but also on unpaid interest from the time it
fell due.
{Simple interest}, interest on the principal sum without
interest on overdue interest.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Interest \In"ter*est\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Interested}; p. pr.
& vb. n. {Interesting}.] [From interess'd, p. p. of the older
form interess, fr. F. int['e]resser, L. interesse. See
{Interest}, noun]
1. To engage the attention of; to awaken interest in; to
excite emotion or passion in, in behalf of a person or
thing; as, the subject did not interest him; to interest
one in charitable work.
To love our native country . . . to be interested in
its concerns is natural to all men. --Dryden.
A goddess who used to interest herself in marriages.
--Addison.
2. To be concerned with or engaged in; to affect; to concern;
to excite; -- often used impersonally. [Obs.]
Or rather, gracious sir,
Create me to this glory, since my cause
Doth interest this fair quarrel. --Ford.
3. To cause or permit to share. [Obs.]
The mystical communion of all faithful men is such
as maketh every one to be interested in those
precious blessings which any one of them receiveth
at God's hands. --Hooker.
Syn: To concern; excite; attract; entertain; engage; occupy;
hold.
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
533 Moby Thesaurus words for "interest":
absolute interest, absorb, absorption, accent, accrued dividends,
accumulated dividends, acquisitiveness, activities, activity,
advantage, advocacy, aegis, affair, affairs, affect,
affect the interest, agacerie, allotment, allowance, allure,
allurement, amusement, animate, answer to, appeal, appertain to,
applicability, application, apply to, appositeness, appurtenance,
arouse, attention, attentiveness, attract, attraction,
attractiveness, auspices, authority, autism, avail, avocation, aye,
backing, bag, bait, bank rate, be attractive, bear on, bear upon,
bearing, beckon, beguilement, beguiling, behalf, behoof, belong to,
benefit, benison, bewitchery, bewitchment, bias, big end,
bigger half, birthright, bit, bite, blandishment, blessing, boon,
breakaway group, bribe, bring, budget, business, cajolery, camp,
campaign, capital gains, captivate, captivation, capture, care,
careerism, carrot, carry, cash dividend, catch, catch up in,
cathexis, caucus, cause, championship, charisma, charity, charm,
charmingness, chunk, claim, cleanup, clear profit, come-hither,
commerce, commission, commitment, common, compensatory interest,
compound interest, con, concern, concernment, conjugal right,
connect, connection, consequence, consequentiality, consideration,
contingent, contingent interest, convenience, correspond to,
countenance, crusade, cumulative dividend, curiosity, curious mind,
curiousness, cut, deal, deal with, decide, demand, destiny,
determine, discount rate, discrimination, dispose, diversion,
dividend, dividends, divine right, division, doing, dole, drag,
draw, draw in, drive, droit, due, earnings, easement, ego trip,
egotism, embarrass, emphasis, employ, employment, enchantment,
encouragement, end, engage, engagement, engross, engrossment,
enlist, enmesh, entangle, enterprise, entertainment, enthrallment,
enthusiasm, enticement, entrapment, equal share,
equitable interest, equity, estate, ethnic group, excellence,
excite, excite interest, excitement, exorbitant interest,
extra dividend, faction, faculty, faith, fascinate, fascination,
fate, favor, favoritism, fetch, fillip, filthy lucre, fire,
flirtation, forbidden fruit, fosterage, function, gain, gains,
germaneness, get, get to do, gettings, ghoulishness, glamour,
gleanings, good, goodwill, graspingness, great cause, greed, gross,
gross interest, gross profit, guidance, half, halver,
have connection with, helping, high order, high rank, hoard, hobby,
hold, holding, implicate, import, importance, inalienable right,
incentive, incite, incitement, inclination, incline, income,
individualism, induce, inducement, inequality, infect, influence,
inquiring mind, inquisitiveness, inside track, interest group,
interest in, interest rate, interestedness, interests,
interim dividend, intrigue, inveiglement, investment, invitation,
invite, involve, involve in, involvement, issue,
itch for knowledge, job, killing, kindle, labor, lead, leaning,
liaise with, lifework, limitation, link with, lively interest,
lookout, lot, lucrative interest, lucre, lure, magnetism, makings,
mark, mass movement, materiality, matter, matter of interest,
measure, meddlesomeness, meed, melon, mental acquisitiveness,
merit, mess, minority group, modicum, moiety, moment,
morbid curiosity, mortgage points, move, movement, narcissism,
natural right, nay, neat profit, nepotism, net, net interest,
net profit, no, nosiness, note, notice, occupation, officiousness,
offshoot, one-sidedness, optional dividend, paper profits,
paramountcy, part, parti pris, partiality, participation,
partisanism, partisanship, party, passion, pastime, patronage,
payment, pelf, penal interest, percentage, perk, perks, perquisite,
personal aims, personal ambition, personal desires, personalism,
persuade, persuasive, pertain to, pertinence, phony dividend,
pickings, piece, pique, plaque, plum, point, political party,
portion, possessiveness, power, precedence, preeminence,
preference, preferential treatment, premium, prerogative,
prescription, pressure group, presumptive right, pretense,
pretension, prevail upon, price, price of money, primacy,
principle, priority, privatism, pro, proceeding, proceeds, procure,
profit, profits, prompt, proper claim, property, property right,
proportion, prosperity, provocation, provoke, prurience,
prurient interest, prying, pull, pursuit, quantum, quicken, quota,
rake-off, rate, rate of interest, ration, reason for being,
receipts, refer to, reference, regard, regular dividend, relate to,
relatedness, relaxation, relevance, remoteness, respect, return,
returns, reward, right, right of entry, scopophilia, scrutiny,
seconding, sect, seducement, seduction, seductiveness, segment,
self-absorption, self-admiration, self-advancement,
self-centeredness, self-consideration, self-containment,
self-devotion, self-esteem, self-importance, self-indulgence,
self-interest, self-interestedness, self-jealousy, self-occupation,
self-pleasing, self-seeking, self-serving, self-solicitude,
self-sufficiency, selfishness, selfism, service, settlement,
sex appeal, share, side, significance, silent majority,
simple interest, slice, small share, snare, snaring,
special dividend, special favor, special interest, splinter,
splinter group, sponsorship, stake, stimulate, stimulation,
stimulative, stimulus, stock, stock dividend, store, stress,
strict settlement, suck into, suction, summon, superiority,
supremacy, sway, sweetener, sweetening, sympathy, take, take-in,
talk into, tangle, tantalization, tantalize, tease, tempt,
temptation, the affirmative, the negative, thing,
thirst for knowledge, tickle, tie in with, titillate, title, touch,
touch upon, transaction, treat of, trust, tutelage, undertaking,
undetachment, undispassionateness, unneutrality, use, usury, value,
vested interest, vested right, vocal minority, voyeurism, wealth,
weight, welfare, well-being, whet, whet the appetite, wing,
winning ways, winnings, winsomeness, witchery, wooing, work,
world of good, worth
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