Antonyms of verb engage

2 of 10 senses of engage

Sense 6
engage -- (get caught; "make sure the gear is engaged")
       Antonym of disengage (Sense 3)
      => disengage -- (become free; "in neutral, the gears disengage")

Sense 10
engage, mesh, lock, operate -- (keep engaged; "engaged the gears")
       Antonym of disengage (Sense 1)
      => disengage, withdraw -- (release from something that holds fast, connects, or entangles; "I want to disengage myself from his influence"; "disengage the gears")

Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb engage

10 senses of engage

Sense 1
prosecute, engage, pursue -- (carry out or participate in an activity; be involved in; "She pursued many activities"; "They engaged in a discussion")
       => act, move -- (perform an action, or work out or perform (an action); "think before you act"; "We must move quickly"; "The governor should act on the new energy bill"; "The nanny acted quickly by grabbing the toddler and covering him with a wet towel")

Sense 2
absorb, engross, engage, occupy -- (consume all of one's attention or time; "Her interest in butterflies absorbs her completely")
       => interest -- (excite the curiosity of; engage the interest of)

Sense 3
hire, engage, employ -- (engage or hire for work; "They hired two new secretaries in the department"; "How many people has she employed?")

Sense 4
engage -- (ask to represent; of legal counsel; "I'm retaining a lawyer")
       => hire, engage, employ -- (engage or hire for work; "They hired two new secretaries in the department"; "How many people has she employed?")

Sense 5
betroth, engage, affiance, plight -- (give to in marriage)
       => vow -- (make a vow; promise; "He vowed never to drink alcohol again")

Sense 6
engage -- (get caught; "make sure the gear is engaged")
       => touch -- (make physical contact with, come in contact with; "Touch the stone for good luck"; "She never touched her husband")

Sense 7
engage, wage -- (carry on (wars, battles, or campaigns); "Napoleon and Hitler waged war against all of Europe")
       => contend, fight, struggle -- (be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight; "the tribesmen fought each other"; "Siblings are always fighting"; "Militant groups are contending for control of the country")

Sense 8
engage, enlist -- (hire for work or assistance; "engage aid, help, services, or support")
       => procure, secure -- (get by special effort; "He procured extra cigarettes even though they were rationed")

Sense 9
lease, rent, hire, charter, engage, take -- (engage for service under a term of contract; "We took an apartment on a quiet street"; "Let's rent a car"; "Shall we take a guide in Rome?")
       => get, acquire -- (come into the possession of something concrete or abstract; "She got a lot of paintings from her uncle"; "They acquired a new pet"; "Get your results the next day"; "Get permission to take a few days off from work")

Sense 10
engage, mesh, lock, operate -- (keep engaged; "engaged the gears")
       => move, displace -- (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense; "Move those boxes into the corner, please"; "I'm moving my money to another bank"; "The director moved more responsibilities onto his new assistant")

Antonyms of adj engaged

7 senses of engaged

Sense 1
engaged, occupied -- (having ones attention or mind or energy engaged; "she keeps herself fully occupied with volunteer activities"; "deeply engaged in conversation")

INDIRECT (VIA busy) -> idle -- (not in action or at work; "an idle laborer"; "idle drifters"; "the idle rich"; "an idle mind")

Sense 2
engaged -- (involved in military hostilities; "the desperately engaged ships continued the fight")

INDIRECT (VIA involved) -> uninvolved -- (not involved; "being uninvolved he remained objective")

Sense 3
booked, engaged, set-aside (predicate) -- (reserved in advance)

INDIRECT (VIA reserved) -> unreserved -- (not reserved)

Sense 4
busy, engaged, in use (predicate) -- ((of facilities such as telephones or lavatories) unavailable for use by anyone else or indicating unavailability; (`engaged' is a British term for a busy telephone line); "her line is busy"; "receptionists' telephones are always engaged"; "the lavatory is in use"; "kept getting a busy signal")

INDIRECT (VIA occupied) -> unoccupied -- (not held or filled or in use; "an unoccupied telephone booth"; "unoccupied hours")

Sense 5
engaged, meshed, intermeshed -- ((used of toothed parts or gears) interlocked and interacting; "the gears are engaged"; "meshed gears"; "intermeshed twin rotors")

INDIRECT (VIA geared) -> ungeared -- (having gears not engaged or disconnected; "the machine's ungeared pinion")

Sense 6
engaged -- (having services contracted for; "the carpenter engaged (or employed) for the job is sick")

INDIRECT (VIA employed) -> unemployed -- (not engaged in a gainful occupation; "unemployed workers marched on the capital")

Sense 7
engaged -- (built against or attached to a wall; "engaged columns")

INDIRECT (VIA connected) -> unconnected -- (not joined or linked together)

Similarity of adj engaged

7 senses of engaged

Sense 1
engaged, occupied -- (having ones attention or mind or energy engaged; "she keeps herself fully occupied with volunteer activities"; "deeply engaged in conversation")
       => busy (vs. idle) -- (actively or fully engaged or occupied; "busy with her work"; "a busy man"; "too busy to eat lunch")

Sense 2
engaged -- (involved in military hostilities; "the desperately engaged ships continued the fight")
       => involved (vs. uninvolved) -- (connected by participation or association or use; "we accomplished nothing, simply because of the large number of people involved"; "the problems involved"; "the involved muscles"; "I don't want to get involved"; "everyone involved in the bribery case has been identified")

Sense 3
booked, engaged, set-aside (predicate) -- (reserved in advance)
       => reserved (vs. unreserved) -- (set aside for the use of a particular person or party)

Sense 4
busy, engaged, in use (predicate) -- ((of facilities such as telephones or lavatories) unavailable for use by anyone else or indicating unavailability; (`engaged' is a British term for a busy telephone line); "her line is busy"; "receptionists' telephones are always engaged"; "the lavatory is in use"; "kept getting a busy signal")
       => occupied (vs. unoccupied) -- (held or filled or in use; "she keeps her time well occupied"; "the wc is occupied")

Sense 5
engaged, meshed, intermeshed -- ((used of toothed parts or gears) interlocked and interacting; "the gears are engaged"; "meshed gears"; "intermeshed twin rotors")
       => geared (vs. ungeared) -- (equipped with or connected by gears or having gears engaged)

Sense 6
engaged -- (having services contracted for; "the carpenter engaged (or employed) for the job is sick")
       => employed (vs. unemployed) -- (having your services engaged for; or having a job especially one that pays wages or a salary; "most of our graduates are employed")

Sense 7
engaged -- (built against or attached to a wall; "engaged columns")
       => connected (vs. unconnected) -- (joined or linked together)