disport
1 of 2noun
dis·port di-ˈspȯrt 
archaic
: sport, pastime
disport
2 of 2verb
disported; disporting; disports
transitive verb
1
: divert, amuse
2
: display
intransitive verb
: to amuse oneself in light or lively fashion : frolic
disportment
di-ˈspȯrt-mənt
noun 
Did you know?
Geoffrey Chaucer was one of the earliest writers to amuse the reading public with the verb disport. Chaucer and his contemporaries carried the word into English from Anglo-French, adapting it from desporter, meaning "to carry away, comfort, or entertain." The word can ultimately be traced back to the Latin verb portare, meaning "to carry." Deport, portable, and transport are among the members of the portare family.
Synonyms
Verb
- amuse
- divert
- entertain
- regale
- solace
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Verb disported themselves with silly games while they waited in the airport a full-service resort where vacationers may disport at a variety of indoor and outdoor activities
Recent Examples on the Web
David Frum, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2017 Today, in the face of widespread public revulsion, some of the marchers discover that being identified disporting themselves has unpleasant consequences. John E. Mcintyre, baltimoresun.com, 14 Aug. 2017 They’re seen disporting in matching white bathrobes, doing Tai Chi or playing croquet or doing crossword puzzles or playing cards, seemingly living in slow motion on the manicured lawn and marbled patio of an enormous courtyard. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 16 Feb. 2017
Verb
Zeman has disported himself as one of Putin’s most outspoken allies inside the European Union, in particular as an opponent of the sanctions imposed on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine in 2014. David Frum, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2017 Today, in the face of widespread public revulsion, some of the marchers discover that being identified disporting themselves has unpleasant consequences. John E. Mcintyre, baltimoresun.com, 14 Aug. 2017 They’re seen disporting in matching white bathrobes, doing Tai Chi or playing croquet or doing crossword puzzles or playing cards, seemingly living in slow motion on the manicured lawn and marbled patio of an enormous courtyard. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 16 Feb. 2017 Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English, from Anglo-French desporter, to carry away, comfort, entertain, from des- dis- + porter to carry, from Latin portare — more at fare
First Known Use
Noun
14th century, in the meaning defined above
Verb
14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
disporting
verb
1
as in amusing
to cause (someone) to pass the time agreeably occupied disported themselves with silly games while they waited in the airport Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- amusing
- entertaining
- regaling
- distracting
- solacing
- occupying
- diverting
- delighting
- appeasing
- consoling
- busying
- pleasing
- contenting
- interesting
- enchanting
- immersing
- engrossing
- charming
- involving
- comforting
- captivating
- bewitching
- indulging
- pleasuring
- engaging
- humoring
- pampering
- obliging
- placating
- beguiling
- gratifying
- mesmerizing
- absorbing
- propitiating
- conciliating
- hypnotizing
- fascinating
- intriguing
- soothing
- enthralling
- coddling
- pacifying
- spoiling
- mollifying
- mollycoddling
- gripping
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- wearing
- boring
- draining
- enervating
- wearying
- exhausting
- jading
- tiring
- harassing
- wearing out
- fatiguing
- harrying
- pestering
- bothering
- nettling
- perturbing
- aggravating
- fretting
- chafing
- exasperating
- disturbing
- vexing
- bugging
- galling
- grating
- annoying
- upsetting
- peeving
- irking
- piquing
2
as in playing
to engage in activity for amusement a full-service resort where vacationers may disport at a variety of indoor and outdoor activities Synonyms & Similar Words
- playing
- frolicking
- recreating
- skylarking
- sporting
- toying
- entertaining
- rollicking
- cavorting
- dallying
- gamboling
- amusing
- relaxing
- joking
- romping
- gambolling
- delighting
- resting
- frisking
- pleasing
- hanging
- dabbling
- trifling
- teasing
- diverting
- loafing
- dabbling
- idling
- jesting
- dawdling
- goldbricking
- screwing around
- messing around
- hanging about
- puttering (around)
- fiddling (around)
- lounging (around or about)
- bumming (around)
- slacking (off)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- laboring
- toiling
- working
- sweating
- striving
- struggling
- straining
- plodding
- plugging (away)
- slaving
- drudging
3
as in cavorting
to play and run about happily the puppies disported in the backyard while we ate on the patio Synonyms & Similar Words
- cavorting
- dancing
- capering
- gamboling
- larking
- leaping
- hopping
- frolicking
- romping
- gambolling
- sporting
- skipping
- frisking
- reveling
- rollicking
- tumbling
- revelling
- prancing
- bounding
- springing
- loping
- roistering
- cutting capers
- tripping
- carousing
- curvetting
- skylarking
- kicking up one's heels
- clowning
- horsing around
- kiting
- curveting
- cutting up
- carrying on
- joyriding
- fooling around
- roughhousing
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- pouting
- stewing
- moping
- sulking
4
as in displaying
to present so as to invite notice or attention football fans triumphantly disported the sports memorabilia for which they had just paid extravagant prices Synonyms & Similar Words
- displaying
- exhibiting
- flashing
- showing
- parading
- waving
- exposing
- unveiling
- strutting
- flaunting
- producing
- sporting
- announcing
- showing off
- advertising
- revealing
- proclaiming
- brandishing
- flourishing
- laying out
- discovering
- broadcasting
- airing
- baring
- trumpeting
- posting
- publicizing
- heralding
- divulging
- placarding
- blazing
- uncovering
- sounding
- unmasking
- uncloaking
- telling (of)
- talking (about)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- disguising
- camouflaging
- concealing
- masking
- hiding
- obscuring
- covering
- shrouding
- occluding
- enshrouding
- veiling
- curtaining
- occulting
- color bar
- color bars
- color base
- color blindness
- color blocking
- color camera
- color center
- color change
- color changeling
- color charge
- color chart
- color chest
- color chip
- color circle
- color coded
- color collotype
- color commentator
- color company
- color constancy
- color cycle
- color developer
- color diagram
- color dimension
- color emissivity
- color filter