mesmerize
verb
Arnold Plotnick
Did you know?
Experts can’t agree on whether Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815) was a quack or a genius, but all concede that the Swabian physician's name is the source of the word mesmerize. In his day, Mesmer was the toast of Paris, where he enjoyed the support of notables including Queen Marie Antoinette. He treated patients with therapeutic procedures (called, appropriately enough, mesmerism) involving what he claimed was a mysterious force termed animal magnetism. (Many believe that mesmerism was what we now call hypnotism). Accordingly, the verb mesmerize was first used to mean "to subject to mesmerism" before broadening to be synonymous with hypnotize, and later to mean "to amaze or captivate."
Synonyms
Examples of mesmerize in a Sentence
Shaun Stanley, Travel + Leisure, 5 Nov. 2024
Witnessing dolphins playfully leaping in the mesmerizing bioluminescence near Venice Pier is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
—Nina Turner, Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2024
Beyond the intimate vestibule entrance, 22-foot ceilings soar over a massive great room that spills out onto a covered patio and a swimming pool with mesmerizing mountain vistas.
—Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 28 Oct. 2024
The opening images plunge us into a roaring conflagration, but Yorick Le Saux’s camera is mesmerized not by burning buildings but by a rogue fire hose, whose high-pressure spray nearly defeats the workers trying to wrest it under control.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Mesmerize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mesmerize. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
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Medical Definition
mesmerize
transitive verb
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