mesmerized

American  

[mez-muh-rahyzd, mes] / ˈmɛz məˌraɪzd, ˈmɛs /

especially British, mesmerised

adjective

1. in a hypnotic or trancelike state; hypnotized.

   “I could create the odor of any kind of fruit and make a mesmerized person taste and smell it,” wrote 19th-century psychic Phineas Quimby.

2. having the attention completely absorbed; fascinated, captivated, or spellbound.

   At our first annual poetry slam, 28 students wielded their verbal prowess in front of a mesmerized audience of over 300.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of mesmerize.

Other Word Forms

• unmesmerized adjective

Etymology

Origin of mesmerized

First recorded in 1825–35; mesmerize ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; mesmerize ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

I stood mesmerized by the brown-eyed boy staring back at me.

From Literature

“I was mesmerized by the landscapes and architecture,” he says.

From Los Angeles Times

Walking down Sixth Avenue in New York recently, I was mesmerized by a Salvation Army dude with his red donation bucket dancing to Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Onlookers are invited to be mesmerized by the fuchsia flames of Gwi-Ma’s realm as the movie’s hooky synth pop bounces in the foreground.

From Salon

A single tear emerges from the astronaut’s eye and simply floats in the air while Mariano, startled and mesmerized, looks on.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• absorbed
• aroused
• delighted
• enamored
• enchanted
• enthralled
• excited
• intoxicated
• thrilled