hypnotic
Americanadjective
-
of, relating to, or producing hypnosis or sleep
-
(of a person) susceptible to hypnotism
noun
-
a drug or agent that induces sleep
-
a person susceptible to hypnosis
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of hypnotic
1680–90; < Late Latin hypnōticus < Greek hypnōtikós sleep-inducing, narcotic, equivalent to hypnō- (variant stem of hypnoûn to put to sleep; see Hypnos) + -tikos -tic
Explanation
Hypnotic things either relate to hypnosis — putting people under spells — or anything that is mesmerizing or spellbinding. You know how hypnotists put people under spells and then make them quack like a duck, or do something equally silly? Hypnotic things relate to hypnosis — like a hypnotist's calm, entrancing, hypnotic voice — or other things that tend to grab people's attention in a similar way. The voice of a powerful public speaker could be described as hypnotic. Great music that you can’t turn off could also be considered hypnotic. Anything hypnotic has a powerful hold on your attention.
Vocabulary lists containing hypnotic
The Devil's Arithmetic
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And Then There Were None
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My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The lazy, hypnotic groove moves with jazz chords and slinky synth melodies that feel like bright rays of light.
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026
Her latest single, Praying Mantis, which released this week, has once again made her a talking point, with fans dissecting the dark, hypnotic track online.
From BBC • May 15, 2026
In Mr. Spears’s hypnotic text settings and harmonies, the chorus becomes a kind of breathing atmosphere, echoing the lines of the individual characters and carrying them along with it into waking and sleeping.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
Trade the metronome as it swings back and forth, but don’t let the hypnotic sound lull you into complacency.
From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026
Mina’s morning and evening hypnotic answer is unvaried: lapping waves, rushing water, and creaking masts.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
