mesmerizing

[ mez-muh-rahy-zing, mes- ]

adjective

1. completely engrossing; captivating or fascinating:

   He spoke to us extemporaneously for at least two hours, weaving a mesmerizing tapestry of wisdom.

2. hypnotic or hypnotizing; having a trancelike effect similar to hypnosis:

   The song’s simple repetition of the word “Hallelujah” is comforting, mesmerizing, and uplifting.

Word History and Origins

Origin of mesmerizing¹

mesmeriz(e) ( def ) + -ing ²( def )

Example Sentences

Today’s Daily Dose dives into gold in all its mesmerizing forms to see whether it’s still worth the glory.

From Ozy

Yet even as she’s doing her best to do her worst by everyone else, Maud is no less mesmerizing or tragically vulnerable.

From Vox

She was uncannily smart and empathetic, with a mesmerizing wild streak.

From Outside Online

Watching a video is not as mesmerizing as really riding a train, of course, and not nearly so demanding as driving one.

From Washington Post

Covid-19 has spawned some popular animal sightings, including the Western tanager bird that mesmerized New Yorkers and peacocks on the loose in Los Angeles.

From Washington Post

Even the track, a mesmerizing torch song called “Before I Ever Met You,” was only available via an obscure SoundCloud link.

From The Daily Beast

But Swinton is incapable of being anything less than mesmerizing.

From The Daily Beast

And that showdown between Vee and Gloria was one of the most mesmerizing sequences ever on OITNB.

From The Daily Beast

This first-person video is mesmerizing, terrifying, and awe-inspiring.

From The Daily Beast

At 28, Eleanor Catton became the youngest ever winner of the Booker Prize with her swirling, mesmerizing epic The Luminaries.

From The Daily Beast

The long harangue, delivered as a chant, had long ago had a mesmerizing effect on her audience.

From Project Gutenberg

Others have the same power that snakes have, though vastly intensified, mesmerizing their victims from afar.

From Project Gutenberg

We had heard a great deal of his curing a blacksmith of tic-douloureux by mesmerizing him.

From Project Gutenberg

Have you never heard of strong wills mesmerizing weaker ones into submission?

From Project Gutenberg

Outside, the mesmerizing snow was falling with a soft, silent persistence.

From Project Gutenberg