entranced
Americanadjective
-
filled with delight or wonder; enraptured; captivated.
The two last songs soulfully bring the album to a lilting climax, leaving the entranced listener clamoring for more.
-
put into a trance; hypnotized.
She honestly believes she spoke to her dead mother with the help of an entranced medium.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of entranced
First recorded in 1590–1600; entrance 2 + -ed 2 for the adjective senses; entrance 2 + -ed 1 for the verb sense
Explanation
If you're entranced, you are charmed and mesmerized by something. An entranced theater-goer might gasp out loud when something scary happens on stage. When you're entranced by something, it's got you under its spell. In fact, the earliest definition of the word was "put into a trance" or "put under a spell," with the roots en-, "put in," and trance, "state of suspense" or "state of insensibility to mundane things," from the Old French word transe, "fear of coming evil." The meaning of entranced has shifted over the years to be more positive — more "charmed" than "cursed."
Vocabulary lists containing entranced
The Incredibly Human Henson Blayze
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Minecraft: The Island
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Max in the House of Spies
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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.
Entranced by Vogel, Mary defends her from criticism by those who question whether the incarcerated women are truly “feebleminded” and worry they are being mistreated.
From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2022
Entranced, Weller swan-dove headlong into the heart of Ferry’s unwritten sophisti-pop syllabus with airs that were tonier, goofier and made for extraordinarily easier listening than anything the Jam would’ve deigned to do.
From Washington Post • Nov. 20, 2020
Entranced, the room fell silent for a moment.
From Fox News • Aug. 30, 2020
Entranced by his assurance of his own awesomeness, Peter treats his kingdom as if its his own personal playground and regards everyone who isn't him as toys or servants.
From Salon • May 15, 2020
Entranced again by Lawrence’s “thrilling” optimism, as he described it to Weaver, Fosdick came away from the meeting anxious that the Rad Lab might not need the foundation’s funds after all.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
