fascinate

  • 1Fascinate — Fas ci*nate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Fascinated}, p. pr. & vb. n.. {Fascinating}.] [L. fascinare; cf. Gr. ?????????? to slander, bewitch.] 1. To influence in an uncontrollable manner; to operate on by some powerful or irresistible charm; to bewitch; …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2fascinate — (v.) 1590s, bewitch, enchant, from M.Fr. fasciner (14c.), from L. fascinatus, pp. of fascinare bewitch, enchant, fascinate, from fascinus spell, witchcraft, of uncertain origin. Possibly from Gk. baskanos bewitcher, sorcerer, with form influenced …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 3fascinate — index immerse (engross), interest, occupy (engage) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …

    Law dictionary

  • 4fascinate — charm, bewitch, enchant, captivate, allure, *attract Analogous words: influence, impress, *affect, sway, strike, touch: delight, rejoice, gladden, *please …

    New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • 5fascinate — [v] captivate, hold spellbound absorb, allure, animate, arouse, attach, attract, beguile, bewitch, charm, compel, delight, draw, enamor, enchant, engage, engross, enrapture, enslave, ensnare, enthrall, entice, entrance, excite, fire, gladden,… …

    New thesaurus

  • 6fascinate — ► VERB ▪ irresistibly attract the interest of. DERIVATIVES fascinating adjective fascinatingly adverb fascination noun. ORIGIN Latin fascinare bewitch , from fascinum spell, witchcraft …

    English terms dictionary

  • 7fascinate — [fas′ə nāt΄] vt. fascinated, fascinating [< L fascinatus, pp. of fascinare, to bewitch, charm < fascinum, a charm < ? or akin to Gr baskanos, sorcerer] 1. Obs. to put under a spell; bewitch 2. to attract or hold motionless, as by a fixed …

    English World dictionary

  • 8fascinate */ — UK [ˈfæsɪneɪt] / US [ˈfæsɪˌneɪt] verb [transitive] Word forms fascinate : present tense I/you/we/they fascinate he/she/it fascinates present participle fascinating past tense fascinated past participle fascinated to attract and interest you very… …

    English dictionary

  • 9fascinate — verb (fascinated; fascinating) Etymology: Latin fascinatus, past participle of fascinare, from fascinum evil spell Date: 1598 transitive verb 1. obsolete bewitch 2. a. to transfix and hold spellbound by an irresistible power …

    New Collegiate Dictionary

  • 10fascinate — [16] To fascinate somebody is literally to ‘bewitch’ them. The word comes from the past participle of the Latin verb fascināre, which was a derivative of fascinum ‘witchcraft’. The Roman phallic deity, incidentally, was named Fascinus, because an …

    The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins