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."
Examples of mesmerize in a Sentence
Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 19 May 2025
The interruptions from Byron’s poem brought chills in Fonda’s mesmerizing reading, as the text follows the breakdown of humanity in the aftermath of environmental catastrophe.
—Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2025
His advocacy for Juicy’s isolation mesmerizes, Cunningham displaying one heckuva range that takes the play anywhere due to his commitment to building from the inside out.
—David John Chávez, Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2025
There’s something inherently mesmerizing about watching one person expertly don multiple personas.
—Alissa Wilkinson, New York Times, 4 May 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Mesmerize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mesmerize. Accessed 2 Jun. 2025.
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mesmerize
transitive verb
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