adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of charming
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English; charm 1 + -ing 2
Explanation
Something charming is usually pleasing or delightful. More rarely, it can be something supernatural. Charms are magical objects and something charming puts you under its spell. In most cases, we mean that only figuratively — if you spent a charming evening with friends, it means their company was so wonderful it was almost enchanting. Charming people have a special, almost magical way of making others like them. But if you're talking about a charming witch, you better watch out for her sorcery and magic tricks.
Vocabulary lists containing charming
Positive Words to Describe a Person
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Real Nice!
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Positive Words to Describe People, List 1
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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.
“I ain’t sayin’ I was Prince Charming or nothin’.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026
Hong Kong-based Charming Medical, a beauty-care company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, went public at $4 on Oct.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 15, 2025
Prince Charming speaks his truth with the same gravity that Kevin Costner used to muster when he rhapsodized over cowboy life on “Yellowstone,” a show Costner claimed he loved but not enough to stay.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 12, 2024
The Irish writer, behind books including This Charming Man and The Break, told an audience at the Hay Festival: "I wouldn't have had the discipline or self-belief."
From BBC • May 26, 2024
Even as she had the thought, Penelope wished she might invite Simon in for tea and a few of the biscuits that the children had begged her to buy at the Charming Little Bakery.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
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.
