transfix

American

[trans-fiks] / trænsˈfɪks /

verb (used with object)

transfixed, transfixt, transfixing

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

Synonyms:

enthrall, captivate, engross, spellbind, fascinate
to pierce through with or as if with a pointed weapon; impale.
to hold or fasten with or on something that pierces.

transfix British

/ trænsˈfɪks, trænsˈfɪkʃən /

verb

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

transfixion noun
untransfixed adjective

Etymology

Origin of transfix

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Director Andrew Russell trusts Porkalob’s ability to transfix an audience.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026

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

From Washington Post • Feb. 17, 2023

They transfix even in the absence of any discernible event.

From New York Times • Nov. 26, 2020

A sign of her charisma is that during the final tableau, as Aida and Radamès are expiring in the tomb, Amneris continues to transfix the attention: even when she isn’t singing, she dominates the stage.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 4, 2018

The changing patterns of light transfix my sight.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023