engage

Compared meaning: to take part in an activity (verb).

比较义项：从事（某项活动）（动词）。

• engage 本词

  Means to start taking part in an activity, often involving other people; typically used as 'engage in + noun' and can imply drawing someone into interaction on a particular occasion.

  指开始参与或投入某项活动，常涉及与他人互动，多用“engage in+名词”的结构，可指在某一具体场合让人参与进来。

  The teacher tried to engage every student in the discussion today.

  老师今天试图让每个学生都参与讨论。

• pursue

  Means to keep working toward achieving something over time, usually a goal, career or interest; takes a direct object without 'in' and sounds more formal than 'engage'.

  指为实现某个目标而持续努力，通常指职业、兴趣或目标，直接接宾语，不与“in”连用，语气比 engage 更正式。

  She decided to pursue a career in medicine after college.

  她决定大学毕业后从事医学方面的职业。

Engage and pursue can both mean to take part in an activity. Engage means to start taking part, often with other people, as in 'engage in' an activity. Pursue means to keep working toward a goal, like a career, over time, and sounds more formal.

这两个词都可表示“从事”某项活动，但语气和用法不同：engage 强调开始参与或投入某项活动，常与“in”连用，也可指让人参与互动；pursue 强调为实现目标而持续努力，通常直接接宾语，语气更正式，多用于职业、兴趣或目标。这里不比较 engage 的“订婚”“雇用”等义项，也不比较 pursue 的“追赶”义项。

Compared meaning: to give someone a paid job (verb).

比较义项：雇佣，给某人一份有偿工作（动词）。

• engage 本词

  Formal and somewhat old-fashioned; typically used for hiring a professional or arranging paid services, such as a lawyer or a photographer, rather than everyday staff.

  较为正式，略显传统；通常用于聘请专业人士或安排有偿服务，如律师或摄影师，而不是普通员工。

  The couple engaged a professional photographer for their wedding.

  这对新人聘请了一位专业摄影师为婚礼拍照。

• hire

  The common, neutral word for giving someone a job; used for any kind of worker, temporary or permanent, and sounds natural in everyday contexts.

  是给予某人工作最常见、中性的词，适用于任何类型的员工，无论临时还是长期，用在日常语境中很自然。

  The cafe is looking to hire a couple of part-time staff for the weekend.

  这家咖啡馆正打算雇几名周末兼职员工。

• employ

  More formal; often describes the ongoing state of having someone on the payroll rather than the act of hiring, as in stating how many people a company employs.

  更正式；常用来描述雇佣关系的持续状态，而不是招聘这一动作，例如说明一家公司雇用了多少员工。

  The company currently employs about two hundred people worldwide.

  这家公司目前在全球雇用了约两百名员工。

Engage, hire, and employ mean to give someone a paid job. Hire is the common, neutral word for any worker. Employ is formal, describing having someone on the payroll, not the act of hiring. Engage is old-fashioned and formal, used mainly for hiring a professional.

engage、hire、employ 在这个义项上都表示雇用某人做有偿工作，但正式程度和用法不同：hire 最口语化、最常用，employ 更正式，常强调长期雇佣的状态，engage 则多用于聘请专业人士或安排有偿服务，语气较为正式，略显传统。这里不比较 engage 的“吸引、使参与”及“订婚”义，也不比较 employ 的“使用、运用”义。

Compared meaning: hold someone's attention (verb).

比较义项：吸引并占据某人的注意力（动词）。

• engage 本词

  Engage means to actively capture someone's interest or draw them into an activity, often via a task, question, or conversation, typically taking an object plus activity; weaker than absorb, since it does not imply total immersion.

  engage指主动吸引某人的兴趣，或使其参与到某项活动中，常见结构是“使某人参与到某事中”；语气比absorb弱，并不表示完全沉浸其中。

  The teacher used a quiz to engage even the quietest students in class.

  老师用一个小测验，让即使是最安静的学生也参与到课堂中来。

• absorb

  Absorb means to hold someone's attention so completely that they become fully immersed and lose awareness of their surroundings; it is often used passively and is stronger than engage.

  absorb指完全占据某人的注意力，使其全神贯注，以至于意识不到周围的环境；常用被动结构“沉浸在某事中”，语气比engage强。

  She was so absorbed in the novel that she missed her bus stop.

  她全神贯注地看小说，以至于错过了自己下车的站。

Both mean to hold someone's attention. Engage is milder: drawing someone into interest or activity. Absorb is stronger: holding attention so fully someone becomes immersed, unaware of surroundings. Excludes: engage as 'hire' or 'get engaged'; absorb as 'soak up liquid' or 'take in knowledge, cost'.

这两个词在表示“吸引并占据某人的注意力”这一意义上比较接近，但语气强弱不同：engage较为温和，强调让人参与或产生兴趣；absorb则更强烈，强调使人完全沉浸、忘乎所以。这里不比较engage的“雇佣”“订婚”“（齿轮）啮合”等意义，也不比较absorb的“吸收（液体）”“吸收（知识、成本等）”等意义。