spellbind
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of spellbind
1800–10; spell 2 + bind, deduced from spellbound
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:
I saw him spellbind a room reciting Sophocles.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 11, 2023
And yet, onstage, under the pink LEDs, the dancers spellbind.
From New York Times ● Jul. 7, 2020
“Throughout his life in jazz, Cecil continues to spellbind or infuriate listeners.”
From Reuters ● Apr. 6, 2018
The assorted facts tailored to fit these spaces spellbind Navy buffs and pros.
From Time Magazine Archive
We here at the Mumbai Young Filmmakers Council are all in agreement that Miss Mehra possesses the unique ability to truly transform her characters on-screen in such a way as to spellbind her audience.
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
“Charming built-ins” and “exposed wood beams” give the interior a vintage feel, while the lush landscaping outside is equally as spellbinding.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
The Telegraph awarded four stars to the "spellbinding spectacle", while the Guardian's four-star review said it features "spectacular stagecraft and plenty of modern resonance".
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
More than 80 years after he was created in Albert Camus’s 1942 novella “The Stranger,” Meursault is still the same chilling prophet of alienation, a walking caricature of emotionlessness who is nevertheless spellbinding.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 2, 2026
If Gellar didn’t have such a spellbinding screen presence, one might think she was the common denominator factor in all of these failed series.
From Salon ● Mar. 26, 2026
I explain this, but I can tell that it's not a spellbinding discussion for the people I live with.
From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan
A former professor of biology at the University of the South, Mr. Haskell has made a career of explaining the lives of plants to spellbound audiences.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
Wicked: For Good has received broadly positive reviews from critics - but many are far less spellbound than they were by the first film.
From BBC ● Nov. 19, 2025
Within a couple of minutes, it snakes all the way back to the entrance, populated by doting parents and spellbound preteens hoping they arrived in time.
From New York Times ● May 24, 2024
Whitney Houston is luxury displaced, spellbound, chased away.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 1, 2023
He seemed literary, to the extent we knew what that was, but not spellbound by his own voice.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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