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Antonyms for employ


Grammar : Verb
Spell : em-ploi
Phonetic Transcription : ɛmˈplɔɪ



Definition of employ

Origin :
  • early 15c., from Middle French employer, from Old French emploiier (12c.) "make use of, apply; increase; entangle; devote," from Latin implicare "enfold, involve, be connected with," from in- (see in- (2)) + plicare "to fold" (see ply (v.1)).
  • Sense of "hire, engage" first recorded in English 1580s, from "involve in a particular purpose," a sense which arose in Late Latin. Related: Employed; employing. The noun is 1660s, from French emploi. Imply, which is the same word, retains more of the original sense.
  • verb make use of
  • verb give money in exchange for work performed
Example sentences :
  • He thought that our hero was about to beg to be taken back into his employ.
  • Extract from : « Brave and Bold » by Horatio Alger
  • It is only right that I should employ a portion in His service.
  • Extract from : « Brave and Bold » by Horatio Alger
  • How are they to employ the day, or what inducement have they to employ it, in recruiting their stock of health?
  • Extract from : « Sunday under Three Heads » by Charles Dickens
  • We shall have to employ two men to move the heavy furniture.
  • Extract from : « Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus » by Jessie Graham Flower
  • What do you imagine you could employ yourself with down there?
  • Extract from : « Weighed and Wanting » by George MacDonald
  • She says that her record of five years in your employ ought to count something in her favor.
  • Extract from : « Within the Law » by Marvin Dana
  • But ambition is foreign to the Shakespeare-Hamlet nature, so the poet does not employ it.
  • Extract from : « The Man Shakespeare » by Frank Harris
  • If it be not well received, perhaps I may employ him on the occasion.
  • Extract from : « Clarissa, Volume 2 (of 9) » by Samuel Richardson
  • The storekeepers aren't apt to employ you at first; they'll be suspicious of you.
  • Extract from : « The Fortune Hunter » by Louis Joseph Vance
  • And it was considerate of you not to employ it in this instance.
  • Extract from : « The Black Bag » by Louis Joseph Vance

Synonyms for employ

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019