charm

¹

[ chahrm ]

noun

1. a power of pleasing or attracting, as through personality or beauty: the charm of a mountain lake.

   charm of manner;

   the charm of a mountain lake.

   Synonyms: allurement, attractiveness

2. a trait or feature imparting this power.
3. charms, attractiveness.
4. a trinket to be worn on a bracelet, necklace, etc.

   Synonyms: bauble

5. something worn or carried on one's person for its supposed magical effect; amulet.

   Synonyms: talisman

6. any action supposed to have magical power.

   Synonyms: spell, enchantment

7. the chanting or recitation of a magic verse or formula.
8. a verse or formula credited with magical power.

   Synonyms: spell

9. Physics. a quantum number assigned the value +1 for one kind of quark, −1 for its antiquark, and 0 for all other quarks. : C Compare charmed quark.

verb (used with object)

1. to delight or please greatly by beauty, attractiveness, etc.; enchant:

   She charmed us with her grace.

   Synonyms: bewitch, allure, ravish, enrapture, entrance, captivate, fascinate

2. to act upon (someone or something) with or as with a compelling or magical force:

   to charm a bird from a tree.

3. to endow with or protect by supernatural powers.
4. to gain or influence through personal charm:

   He charmed a raise out of his boss.

verb (used without object)

1. to be fascinating or pleasing.
2. to use charms.
3. to act as a charm.

charm

²

[ chahrm ]

noun

, British Dialect.

1. blended singing of birds, children, etc.

charm

¹

/ tʃɑːm /

noun

1. dialect.
   a loud noise, as of a number of people chattering or of birds singing

charm

²

/ tʃɑːm /

noun

1. the quality of pleasing, fascinating, or attracting people
2. a pleasing or attractive feature
3. a small object worn or kept for supposed magical powers of protection; amulet; talisman
4. a trinket worn on a bracelet
5. a magic spell; enchantment
6. a formula or action used in casting such a spell
7. physics an internal quantum number of certain elementary particles, used to explain some scattering experiments
8. like a charm
   perfectly; successfully

verb

1. to attract or fascinate; delight greatly
2. to cast a magic spell on
3. to protect, influence, or heal, supposedly by magic
4. tr to influence or obtain by personal charm

   he charmed them into believing him

charm

/ chärm /

1. One of the flavors of quarks, contributing to the charm number—a quantum number—for hadrons.
2. A charmed particle is a particle that contains at least one charmed quark or charmed antiquark. The charmed quark was hypothesized to account for the longevity of the J/psi particle and to explain differences in the behavior of leptons and hadrons.
3. See more at flavor

Other Words From

• charm·ed·ly [chahr, -mid-lee], adverb
• charmer noun
• charmless adjective
• charmless·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of charm¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English charme “magical verse or incantation,” from Old French, from Latin carmen “song, magical formula,” from unattested canmen (by dissimilation), equivalent to can(ere) “to sing” + -men noun suffix

Origin of charm²

First recorded in 1520–30 as cherme, dialect variant of chirm “noise, din,” perhaps associated with charm ¹( def ) (in the sense “chanting of a magic verse”)

Word History and Origins

Origin of charm¹

C16: variant of chirm

Origin of charm²

C13: from Old French charme, from Latin carmen song, incantation, from canere to sing

Idioms and Phrases

• (charm the) pants off
• work like a charm

Example Sentences

Warm or cold, charming or sneering, gazing down from society’s top rung or desperately trying to get there, he is the craven soul of a corrupt social system.

From Los Angeles Times

Grounded by Harden’s natural and loosely charming performance, Khalid treats his nightmare scenario with an alternating sense of anxiety and buoyant, joshing can-do attitude.

From New York Times

With those roles, Murray catapulted into a star, a heartthrob with a capital H. He became a fixture of the tabloids and every teen girl’s crush, with his winning smile, bad-boy charm and tattoos.

From Los Angeles Times

As news of Shklyarov’s death broke Saturday, the ballet world mourned the dancer who impressed with his gravity-defying leaps and charming stage presence.

From Los Angeles Times

But it will bring more of the singer's Southern charms.

From Salon

Related Words

• attract
• beguile
• bewitch
• cajole
• captivate
• delight
• enamor
• enrapture
• enthrall
• fascinate
• hypnotize
• mesmerize
• please
• tickle
• wow