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
Damon Wise, Deadline, 30 Aug. 2024
Images courtesy The Family of Walter Anderson Equally mesmerizing is the mythology of Walter’s life.
—Josh Miller, Southern Living, 16 Aug. 2024
The space sequences, particularly orbiting above the planet’s rings, are mesmerizing and gorgeous, as well as looking like they’re filmed in actual outer space.
—Mark Hughes, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2024
And when Mount Toll comes into view near the summit of Audubon, the view is mesmerizing.
—John Meyer, The Denver Post, 12 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mesmerize 
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“Mesmerize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mesmerize. Accessed 11 Sep. 2024.
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mesmerize
transitive verb
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