fascinate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
fascinates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fascinated,
past participle, past
-
fascinating
present participle
-
to attract and hold attentively by a unique power, personal charm, unusual nature, or some other special quality; enthrall.
His natural vivacity fascinates and dominates his audience, leading them wherever he will.
-
to arouse the interest or curiosity of.
As I learned about ancient Egyptian religion, I found elements that fascinated me.
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to transfix or deprive of the power of resistance, as through terror.
The sight of the snake fascinated the rabbit.
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Obsolete. to bewitch.
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Obsolete. to cast under a spell by a look.
verb (used without object)
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fascinates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fascinated,
past participle, past
-
fascinating
present participle
verb
-
to attract and delight by arousing interest or curiosity
his stories fascinated me for hours
-
to render motionless, as with a fixed stare or by arousing terror or awe
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archaic to put under a spell
Usage
A person can be fascinated by or with another person or thing. It is correct to speak of someone's fascination with a person or thing; one can also say a person or thing has a fascination for someone
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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fascinatesimple
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fascinatessimple
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have fascinatedperfect
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has fascinatedperfect
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am fascinatingprogressive
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are fascinatingprogressive
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is fascinatingprogressive
-
have been fascinatingperfect progressive
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has been fascinatingperfect progressive
Past
-
fascinatedsimple
-
had fascinatedperfect
-
was fascinatingprogressive
-
were fascinatingprogressive
-
had been fascinatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fascinate
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin fascinātus, past participle of fascināre “to bewitch, cast a spell on,” verbal derivative of fascinum “evil spell, bewitchment”
Explanation
Anything that sparks your interest or makes you wonder has the ability to fascinate. If you catch someone's interest, and then hold it, you fascinate them. Be careful. The word fascinate actually comes from Latin and French words meaning "witchcraft," and although these days fascinate is used under much tamer circumstances, there is some sense in the word that the person's appeal is not quite normal: there might be a spell-like quality to his or her charms. Thus, the word is often used to describe a new love. On the other hand, you might find the study of exotic beetles fascinating. To each his own.
Vocabulary lists containing fascinate
Woman Hollering Creek
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I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005
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Lessons 2–3
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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.
See Examples For:
He’s a student of life as much as he is filmmaking, a humanist who forges connections with spectacular sights of the things that frighten and fascinate us the most.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026
Or is it only the archetypal Oedipus and Antigone who fascinate us?
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026
But the subject also appears to fascinate him.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2025
And the wrap dress continues to fascinate new generations of women.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2024
Our group was large enough that keeping it together could be a challenge, especially in a place like this, full of distractions tailor- made to fascinate children.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
As a writer who is both gay and old enough to have watched the internet explode into the nefarious monster it’s become, the way language transforms online both irks and fascinates me.
From Salon ● May 10, 2026
"Their war cry is 'let's live life, let's live it healthily, let's live well,' and obviously this fascinates me."
From Barron's ● May 5, 2026
Despite being so vocal, Cudi still retains a mystique quality that fascinates fans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2026
In elite sports real struggle is rarely physical; it’s always in the brain, and that fascinates me.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
But she is cruel because she doesn’t care what she does, as long as it fascinates her.
From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
He admitted to being fascinated by fire, and that "things that go through fire experience a kind of rebirth," a detective said in the document.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
Greek journalists are used to all this but they have been fascinated that reporters have travelled from Scotland for the case.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Greta Lee and Edmund Donovan star alongside the actor in this adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler’s novella about a group of intellectuals fascinated with a once-celebrated writer who now works at a post office.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
For a filmmaker fascinated by the slippery workings of memory, the combination is a natural fit: Before Odysseus can resume his journey, he has to remember that he wants to go home.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
And when they were over the fear of it, they were fascinated with it.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
We have a few fascinating reads to kick off your weekend.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
But something fascinating was happening behind the scenes, coinciding with the disaster that had sent Olin overseas and left her bandmates, Augustin and Nathan Slone — located in New York City — shocked.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
This fascinating book is a study in how archival documentaries in the 1930s lurched forward—from episodic newsreels to hodgepodge feature-length efforts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
It is clear from the first answer of a fascinating 45-minute chat that Chris Smalling is no ordinary footballer.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
It’s a tale that might seem fascinating to a tourist, but it’s making me feel like a dove with broken wings.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
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.
