Articles curated by Merriam-Webster editors
Entertainment – the act of entertaining or the state of being entertained – is one of our most fundamental activities. It can be anything from the simple pleasure of a good meal, to the complex planning and preparation for a public event; from the private entertainment offered by the latest pre-recorded video product to the performance created for thousands. Sometimes, entertainment has a more serious intent such as a religious festival, a political ceremony or a work of art that provides insight or intellectual growth. A famous example is the story of Scheherazade from the Persian professional storytelling tradition, which inspired composers Rimsky-Korsakov, Ravel and Szymanowski to make orchestral works, film director Pasolini to make a movie and innovative game designers to create video games.