transfix

[ trans-fiks ]

verb (used with object)

, trans·fixed or trans·fixt, trans·fix·ing.

1. to make or hold motionless with amazement, awe, terror, etc.

   Synonyms: enthrall, captivate, engross, spellbind, fascinate

2. to pierce through with or as if with a pointed weapon; impale.
3. to hold or fasten with or on something that pierces.

transfix

/ trænsˈfɪks; trænsˈfɪkʃən /

verb

1. to render motionless, esp with horror or shock
2. to impale or fix with a sharp weapon or other device
3. med to cut through (a limb or other organ), as in amputation

Derived Forms

• transfixion, noun

Other Words From

• trans·fix·ion [trans-, fik, -sh, uh, n], noun
• untrans·fixed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of transfix¹

1580–90; < Latin trānsfīxus (past participle of trānsfīgere to pierce through), equivalent to trāns- trans- + fīg ( ere ) to pierce + -sus, variant of -tus past participle suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of transfix¹

C16: from Latin transfīgere to pierce through, from trans- + fīgere to thrust in

Example Sentences

Both pieces confirm the impression that Thorvaldsdottir is incapable of writing music that doesn’t immediately transfix an open-eared listener.

From New York Times

Over the next few days they fanned out, scanning the faces for a certain quality — one that would eventually transfix and flummox audiences in equal measure.

From New York Times

The categories aren’t hard and fast, but what were once considered commercial films — blockbusters for a global audience — are now better described as theater films, made to transfix audiences in a single room as they laugh, cry and Raisinet together.

From Los Angeles Times

It's been already way past time for the American media to start using the f-word — fascism — to describe this ideology that continues to transfix the core voting bloc in one of America's two major political parties.

From Salon

The sequences are designed to transfix human viewers yet proceed without them.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• captivate
• enchant
• engross
• fascinate
• hypnotize
• mesmerize
• petrify
• rivet
• stun