hypnosis

American  

[hip-noh-sis] / hɪpˈnoʊ sɪs /

noun

• hypnoses
  plural

1. an artificially induced trance state resembling sleep, characterized by heightened susceptibility to suggestion.

2. hypnotism.

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hypnosis British  

/ hɪpˈnəʊsɪs /

noun

1. an artificially induced state of relaxation and concentration in which deeper parts of the mind become more accessible: used clinically to reduce reaction to pain, to encourage free association, etc See also autohypnosis

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hypnosis Scientific  

/ hĭp-nō′sĭs /

1. A trancelike state resembling sleep, usually induced by a therapist by focusing a subject's attention, that heightens the subject's receptivity to suggestion. The uses of hypnosis in medicine and psychology include recovering repressed memories, modifying or eliminating undesirable behavior (such as smoking), and treating certain chronic disorders, such as anxiety.

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hypnosis Cultural  

1. Placing persons in a drowsy, sleeplike state in which they allegedly become vulnerable to the suggestions made by the hypnotist. Hypnosis may also be used to tap into the unconscious and is often characterized by vivid recall of memories and fantasies. These properties make hypnosis a useful tool in psychotherapy. Hypnosis also has sinister implications, for subjects may be manipulated to perform embarrassing actions or be susceptible to carrying out the hypnotist's commands after the hypnosis session (posthypnotic suggestion).

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• hypnoses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of hypnosis

First recorded in 1875–80; hypn(otic) + -osis

Explanation

Hypnosis is a trance-like state induced by a hypnotist in which the subject becomes highly open to suggestions by others. In movies, hypnosis usually starts with the phrase, "You are feeling very sleepy..." Thanks to a million bad TV shows and stage hypnotists — "look into my eyes, you are feeling sleepy..." — we tend to think of hypnosis as making its unfortunate subjects think they're birds and run around flapping their arms for our amusement. In fact, modern day hypnosis is more commonly used by therapists to help people modify undesirable behaviors such as smoking or anxiety. Helpful, if not as much fun.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hypnosis hypnoses

A California court explained the danger of investigative hypnosis this way.

From Slate ● Feb. 13, 2026

Some of the messages mentioned hypnosis sessions and offered to tell Amelie her "memories", prosecutor Nadia Silver said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2025

Bianchi did so under hypnosis, and convinced more than one psychiatrist that he suffered from multiple personality disorder.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2025

Self-help videos offered advice on relationships, wellness, business success and spirituality - including hypnosis, meditation and exercise programmes.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2024

It can walk on its hind legs, outrun arrows, and its yellow eyes are reputed to have the power of both hypnosis and Legilimency.

From "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling

He realised more and more that the state was a conscious one, and that the losses of memory which followed on waking could always be restored in subsequent hypnoses.

From The World's Greatest Books — Volume 15 — Science by Sir John Alexander Hammerton

One may have the knowledge of a Lavoisier, and still not be able to analyze, not be able even to see, except conformably with the hypnoses, or the conventional reactions against hypnoses, of one's era.

From The Book of the Damned by Charles Fort

Whether this be imaginable or not depends upon each one's own hypnoses.

From The Book of the Damned by Charles Fort

It is doubtful, however, whether any of these sudden disablements should be classed as true hypnoses.

From Human Personality and its Survival of Bodily Death by F. W. H. (Frederic William Henry) Myers

In accordance with the mathematical hypnoses of his era, he studied these six transits.

From The Book of the Damned by Charles Fort

Related Words

• coma
• slumber
• trance