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bewitch

[bih-wich]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to affect by witchcraft or magic; cast a spell over.
  2. to enchant; charm; fascinate: The painter bewitched the crowd with his latest work.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to cause someone to be enchanted; cast a spell over someone: She lost her power to bewitch.
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Origin of bewitch

First recorded in 1175–1225, bewitch is from the Middle English word biwicchen. See be-, witch
Related formsbe·witch·er, nounbe·witch·er·y, nounbe·witch·ing·ness, nounbe·witch·ment, nounun·be·witched, adjective

Synonyms

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2. captivate, enrapture, transport.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

dazzlefascinateenthrallcaptivatehypnotizebeguileenraptureenchantcontrolcaptureentranceslaywowspellhexdrawsendticklevampallure

Examples from the Web for bewitch

Historical Examples

  • Their name, their garb, and work did so intoxicate and bewitch me.'

    Bunyan

    James Anthony Froude

  • Through the witchcraft by means of which she has bewitched me, bewitch thou her.

  • And she showed us some of the dancing steps and they just bewitch you.

    A Little Girl in Old Salem

    Amanda Minnie Douglas

  • Now, it may be that Mrs. Treacher had also allowed Vashti to bewitch her.

    Major Vigoureux

    A. T. Quiller-Couch

  • And Gal 3, 1, "Who did bewitch you that ye should not obey the truth?"

British Dictionary definitions for bewitch

bewitch

verb (tr)
  1. to attract and fascinate; enchant
  2. to cast a spell over
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Derived Formsbewitching, adjectivebewitchingly, adverb

Word Origin

C13 bewicchen; see be-, witch
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

Word Origin and History for bewitch

v.

c.1200, biwicchen, from be- + Old English wiccian "to enchant, to practice witchcraft" (see witch). Literal at first, figurative sense of "to fascinate" is from 1520s. *Bewiccian may well have existed in Old English, but it is not attested. Related: Bewitched; bewitching; bewitchingly.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper