charm

¹ American  

[chahrm] / tʃɑrm /

noun

1. a power of pleasing or attracting, as through personality or beauty: the charm of a mountain lake.

   charm of manner;

   the charm of a mountain lake.

   Synonyms:

   allurement, attractiveness

2. a trait or feature imparting this power.

3. charms, attractiveness.

4. a trinket to be worn on a bracelet, necklace, etc.

   Synonyms:

   bauble

5. something worn or carried on one's person for its supposed magical effect; amulet.

   Synonyms:

   talisman

6. any action supposed to have magical power.

   Synonyms:

   spell, enchantment

7. the chanting or recitation of a magic verse or formula.

8. a verse or formula credited with magical power.

   Synonyms:

   spell

9. Physics. a quantum number assigned the value +1 for one kind of quark, −1 for its antiquark, and 0 for all other quarks. C

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verb (used with object)

1. to delight or please greatly by beauty, attractiveness, etc.; enchant.

   She charmed us with her grace.

   Synonyms:

   bewitch, allure, ravish, enrapture, entrance, captivate, fascinate

2. to act upon (someone or something) with or as with a compelling or magical force.

   to charm a bird from a tree.

3. to endow with or protect by supernatural powers.

4. to gain or influence through personal charm.

   He charmed a raise out of his boss.

verb (used without object)

1. to be fascinating or pleasing.

2. to use charms.

3. to act as a charm.

charm ² American  

[chahrm] / tʃɑrm /

noun

British Dialect.

1. blended singing of birds, children, etc.

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charm ¹ British  

/ tʃɑːm /

noun

1. the quality of pleasing, fascinating, or attracting people

2. a pleasing or attractive feature

3. a small object worn or kept for supposed magical powers of protection; amulet; talisman

4. a trinket worn on a bracelet

5. a magic spell; enchantment

6. a formula or action used in casting such a spell

7. physics an internal quantum number of certain elementary particles, used to explain some scattering experiments

8. perfectly; successfully

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verb

1. to attract or fascinate; delight greatly

2. to cast a magic spell on

3. to protect, influence, or heal, supposedly by magic

4. (tr) to influence or obtain by personal charm

   he charmed them into believing him

charm ² British  

/ tʃɑːm /

noun

1. dialect a loud noise, as of a number of people chattering or of birds singing

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charm Scientific  

/ chärm /

1. One of the flavors of quarks, contributing to the charm number—a quantum number—for hadrons.

2. A charmed particle is a particle that contains at least one charmed quark or charmed antiquark. The charmed quark was hypothesized to account for the longevity of the J/psi particle and to explain differences in the behavior of leptons and hadrons.

3. See more at flavor

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charm Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing charm

• (charm the) pants off
• work like a charm

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Other Word Forms

• charmedly adverb
• charmer noun
• charmless adjective
• charmlessly adverb

Etymology

Origin of charm¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English charme “magical verse or incantation,” from Old French, from Latin carmen “song, magical formula,” from unattested canmen (by dissimilation), equivalent to can(ere) “to sing” + -men noun suffix

Origin of charm²

First recorded in 1520–30 as cherme, dialect variant of chirm “noise, din,” perhaps associated with charm ¹ ( def. ) (in the sense “chanting of a magic verse”)

Example Sentences

The mall king was both feared and admired and could be both charming and terrifying.

From The Wall Street Journal

These charismatics have been around so long that the things people used to find grating about them are now charming.

From The Wall Street Journal

I’m happy to report that Global Entry worked like a charm at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday.

From The Wall Street Journal

Those who were charmed by Gladden in “Jury Duty” are sure to fall for the hero of “Company Retreat,” Anthony Norman of Nashville.

From Los Angeles Times

While a proton contains two up quarks and one down quark, the Ξcc⁺ replaces the up quarks with heavier charm quarks.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• attract
• beguile
• bewitch
• cajole
• captivate
• delight
• enamor
• enrapture
• enthrall
• fascinate
• hypnotize
• mesmerize
• please
• tickle
• wow