What does otherwise engaged mean

You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser. Thread starter thtoan79 Start date Feb 24, Hello everybody, Here is an example for the usage of "otherwise" in Oxford Dictionary "I wanted to see him but he was otherwise engaged". And the dictionary says that "otherwise" is "used to state what the result would be if sth did not happen or if the situation were different".

So, according to this way of explanation, we have to find out what is the different situation in this sentence, and what is the result of that different situation here, and clearly, I've failed to do that, so I need your help.

I hope that you can explain the case in the way that I recommend here because I have used this way to explain all the cases that I have ever encountered, so if you use this way, you will help me to understand more easily but if you don't, it's ok, oh, I'll be fine after all.

Thank you. For starters, I don't see the need for "otherwise". It's sort of filler for me. A I wanted to see him but he was otherwise engaged. B I wanted to see him but he was engaged.

They both mean the same to me. In your example "otherwise" means "in a different way". I don't see any point in trying to concoct a different explanation to fit other uses of the same word.

The expression 'otherwise engaged' is often used to mask a blunt refusal. It means, effectively, I'm not going to see you, or come to your party, or whatever, and I'm not going to tell you why.

Otherwise is used in at least two different ways: Otherwise engaged - engaged in some other way. Without the Internet, a slew of day traders might be otherwise engaged. With the Christian troops otherwise engaged , the Templar Knights face overwhelming odds. The project is based on Suzanne Finnamore's novel " Otherwise Engaged ," He told the president's staff that, sorry, he was otherwise engaged.

From its first years, Broadway actors used the theater when not otherwise engaged. In , over 13, students viewed or were otherwise engaged by Enlighten programs. It's difficult to see otherwise engaged in a sentence. I feel weird. Weird est beaucoup plus simple sans avoir deux sens. I rest my case. Phrase used when someone has brought all the evidences to support his point of view; "I'm done with explanations".

I can't take it. I can't understand it, I can't believe it, I can't accept it. I don't give a fuck.