fascinate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to attract and hold attentively by a unique power, personal charm, unusual nature, or some other special quality; enthrall.
His natural vivacity fascinates and dominates his audience, leading them wherever he will.
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to arouse the interest or curiosity of.
As I learned about ancient Egyptian religion, I found elements that fascinated me.
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to transfix or deprive of the power of resistance, as through terror.
The sight of the snake fascinated the rabbit.
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Obsolete. to bewitch.
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Obsolete. to cast under a spell by a look.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to attract and delight by arousing interest or curiosity
his stories fascinated me for hours
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to render motionless, as with a fixed stare or by arousing terror or awe
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archaic to put under a spell
Usage
A person can be fascinated by or with another person or thing. It is correct to speak of someone's fascination with a person or thing; one can also say a person or thing has a fascination for someone
Other Word Forms
- fascinatedly adverb
- fascination noun
- fascinative adjective
Etymology
Origin of fascinate
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin fascinātus, past participle of fascināre “to bewitch, cast a spell on,” verbal derivative of fascinum “evil spell, bewitchment”
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
