interest

A2 Topic:Emotions & Feelings

US /ˈɪn.tɹɛst/ UK /ˈɪn.tɹɛst/ See IPA manual

Freq #1290

Meanings

1

noun
a feeling of wanting to know about or take part in something.

She has a strong interest in music.
2

noun
the quality of being exciting or worth paying attention to.

They said nothing of great interest at the meeting.
3

noun
the extra money you pay to borrow money, or earn by saving it.

Our bank charges an annual interest of 5%.
4

verb
to make someone want to know more or pay attention.

The new project really interests me.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a feeling of wanting to... involvement

2 noun · the quality of being... interestingness

Opposites

bore disinterest

Word family

Forms interests

Derived forms interestableinterested interestingreinterest

Appears in

Phrases (3)

See all

Proverbs (1)

See all

Worry is interest paid on trouble before it is due

Simplified etymology

Interest comes from Latin interest, “it makes a difference, concerns, or matters,” related to interesse, “to concern or be important,” from inter, “between,” and esse, “to be.” Its earliest English senses concerned benefit, advantage, or a legal or financial stake; the sense “money paid for the use of borrowed money” is recorded from 1545.

Etymology

From Middle English interest, from Old French interesse and interest (French intérêt), from Medieval Latin interesse, from Latin interesse.

*h₁es- Proto-Indo-European interest Middle English interesse Old French intersum Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Emotions & Feelings Economics & Markets Personal Finance

External links

# interest

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈɪn.tɹɛst/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɪn.tɹɛst/
**Frequency rank:** 1290

## Meanings
1. a feeling of wanting to know about or take part in something.
2. the quality of being exciting or worth paying attention to.
3. the extra money you pay to borrow money, or earn by saving it.
4. to make someone want to know more or pay attention.

## Examples
- She has a strong interest in music.
- They said nothing of great interest at the meeting.
- Our bank charges an annual interest of 5%.
- The new project really interests me.

## Antonyms
- bore
- disinterest

## Derived Forms
- interestable
- interested
- interesting
- reinterest

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *h₁es-
- Root: interest
- Root: interesse
- Root: intersum

## Etymology
From Middle English interest, from Old French interesse and interest (French intérêt), from Medieval Latin interesse, from Latin interesse.

## AI Etymology
Interest comes from Middle English interest, from Old French interesse and interest (French intérêt), from Medieval Latin interesse, from Latin interesse. The historical line also includes *h₁es- and intersum.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings
- Economics & Markets
- Personal Finance

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