Synonyms

hypnotize

American

[hip-nuh-tahyz] / ˈhɪp nəˌtaɪz /

especially British, hypnotise

verb (used with object)

to put in the hypnotic state.
to influence, control, or direct completely, as by personal charm, words, or domination.

The speaker hypnotized the audience with his powerful personality.
to frighten or startle so that movement is impossible.

The headlights hypnotized the deer and it just stood staring at the oncoming car.

verb (used without object)

to practice hypnosis; put or be able to put others into a hypnotic state.

hypnotize British

/ ˈhɪpnəˌtaɪz /

verb

to induce hypnosis in (a person)
to charm or beguile; fascinate

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

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Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of hypnotize

First recorded in 1843; see origin at hypnotism, -ize

Explanation

When you hypnotize someone, you draw him into a mental state that is receptive to suggestion. If you are looking to break a bad habit like cigarette smoking, ask someone to hypnotize you. To hypnotize is to induce a calm, focused state in one's self or in another person. The state is called hypnosis, and a person who can do this for someone else is a hypnotist. The word hypnotize comes from the Greek hypnotikos, "inclined to sleep or putting to sleep," and popular ideas of hypnosis reflect a kind of half-asleep state. In reality, when you hypnotize someone, the person remains awake and intently focused.

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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:

hypnotize hypnotizes hypnotized hypnotizing

Watching a trickster hypnotize someone in a live performance might impress you.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2025

This preschool teacher's voice is meant to hypnotize us and pull us along.

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2024

I assume he will now hypnotize himself in front of the nearest screen during breakfast instead of asking questions about what he just read.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 10, 2023

The goal wasn’t to hypnotize an audience through an emotional narrative.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2023

Gently rolling the little goshawk on her back, I stroke her breast to hypnotize her and calm her down.

From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

It’s a disconcerting choice, one that hypnotizes as much as it unnerves.

From Salon ● Dec. 13, 2024

And in the short story The Euphio Question, an opportunistic businessman capitalizes on an astronomer’s bizarre discovery to create a “euphoriaphone” that hypnotizes society into complacency.

From Science Magazine ● Nov. 10, 2022

Sinister Svengali hypnotizes young Trilby to fame as an opera singer in 1890s Paris.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2020

“It’s in nonsense language; it makes no sense at all. It’s mumbo-jumbo. But it’s mumbo-jumbo that hypnotizes people. It dazzles and entertains, even though she is saying nothing.”

From Washington Post ● Jul. 3, 2019

Like the fish sort of hypnotizes you into not throwing the harpoon.

From "The Young Man and the Sea" by Rodman Philbrick

I’ve always been hypnotized by the sky, by the light and how light works with the clouds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2025

When an actor pretends to be hypnotized by another actor on film, the urge to applaud is not overwhelming.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2025

How deeply someone can be hypnotized -- known as hypnotizability -- appears to be a stable trait that changes little throughout adulthood, much like personality and IQ.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 4, 2024

As humans who fundamentally want to be happy and don’t want to suffer, we can choose not to be seduced and hypnotized by the excitement, greed and competitiveness of the tech wizards in Silicon Valley.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 1, 2023

I think he hypnotized her, be-cause Beth Ann sat down slowly.

From "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech

For some the answer is easy–especially now that surfing property sites has become as hypnotizing as scrolling through Instagram or TikTok.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026

Stewart slowly waved his finger across his face, as if hypnotizing viewers.

From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2025

The script’s ridiculous rationale — which our hero repeatedly intones like he’s hypnotizing us to believe it — is that certain beekeepers have pledged to prevent colony collapse, both apoidea and homo sapien.

From New York Times ● Jan. 10, 2024

Byron Messia, “Talibans” A song so hypnotizing that you almost don’t notice the venom the Jamaican-born, St. Kitts-raised artist puts into every word.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 2023

The rhythmic swing of their arms and legs is hypnotizing as they float by.

From "The Sky at Our Feet" by Nadia Hashimi

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023