absorbinglyadv.
/əbˈzɔːbɪŋli/, /əbˈsɔːbɪŋli/, U.S. /əbˈzɔrbɪŋli/, /æbˈzɔrbɪŋli/, /əbˈsɔrbɪŋli/, /æbˈsɔrbɪŋli/ In an absorbing manner; engrossingly, rivetingly.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > attention > attracting attention > [adverb]
strikingly1752
fascinatingly1773
interestingly1811
engrossingly1835
absorbingly1836
rivetingly1849
arrestingly1882
fruitily1918
intriguingly1922
grippingly1934
compulsively1966
1836 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 40 13/1 Mr. Hillary was at that eventful moment absorbingly engaged with a letter.
1868 Athenæum 25 July 105/1 The sole idea which absorbingly possessed him [sc. Edward] was that of erecting a great Norman Abbey in Westminster.
1872 H. P. Liddon Some Elements Relig. v. 173 Any common act of prayer keeps..the understanding occupied earnestly, absorbingly, under the guidance of faith.
1929 Mind 38 394 It [sc. the book] is..absorbingly interesting in its choice of material and pellucidly clear in the exposition of it.
1972 G. W. Allen Carl Sandburg 9 He had talked with men who had fought in this more recent war and he found their stories absorbingly interesting.
2008 Renaissance Q. Winter 1427 Against the backdrop of a study that explores but does not push the envelope of legitimate conjecture, certain vignettes..stand out all the more absorbingly.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adv.1836