charm

¹

[chahrm]

noun

1. a power of pleasing or attracting, as through personality or beauty: the charm of a mountain lake.

   charm of manner;

   the charm of a mountain lake.

   Synonyms: allurement, attractiveness

2. a trait or feature imparting this power.

3. charms, attractiveness.

4. a trinket to be worn on a bracelet, necklace, etc.

   Synonyms: bauble

5. something worn or carried on one's person for its supposed magical effect; amulet.

   Synonyms: talisman

6. any action supposed to have magical power.

   Synonyms: spell, enchantment

7. the chanting or recitation of a magic verse or formula.

8. a verse or formula credited with magical power.

   Synonyms: spell

9. Physics.,  a quantum number assigned the value +1 for one kind of quark, −1 for its antiquark, and 0 for all other quarks. C

verb (used with object)

1. to delight or please greatly by beauty, attractiveness, etc.; enchant.

   She charmed us with her grace.

   Synonyms: bewitch, allure, ravish, enrapture, entrance, captivate, fascinate

2. to act upon (someone or something) with or as with a compelling or magical force.

   to charm a bird from a tree.

3. to endow with or protect by supernatural powers.

4. to gain or influence through personal charm.

   He charmed a raise out of his boss.

verb (used without object)

1. to be fascinating or pleasing.

2. to use charms.

3. to act as a charm.

charm

²

[chahrm]

noun

British Dialect.

1. blended singing of birds, children, etc.

charm

¹

/ tʃɑːm /

noun

1. the quality of pleasing, fascinating, or attracting people

2. a pleasing or attractive feature

3. a small object worn or kept for supposed magical powers of protection; amulet; talisman

4. a trinket worn on a bracelet

5. a magic spell; enchantment

6. a formula or action used in casting such a spell

7. physics an internal quantum number of certain elementary particles, used to explain some scattering experiments

8. perfectly; successfully

verb

1. to attract or fascinate; delight greatly

2. to cast a magic spell on

3. to protect, influence, or heal, supposedly by magic

4. (tr) to influence or obtain by personal charm

   he charmed them into believing him

charm

²

/ tʃɑːm /

noun

1. dialect,  a loud noise, as of a number of people chattering or of birds singing

charm

1. One of the flavors of quarks, contributing to the charm number—a quantum number—for hadrons.

2. A charmed particle is a particle that contains at least one charmed quark or charmed antiquark. The charmed quark was hypothesized to account for the longevity of the J/psi particle and to explain differences in the behavior of leptons and hadrons.

3. See more at flavor

Other Word Forms

• charmedly adverb
• charmer noun
• charmless adjective
• charmlessly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of charm¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English charme “magical verse or incantation,” from Old French, from Latin carmen “song, magical formula,” from unattested canmen (by dissimilation), equivalent to can(ere) “to sing” + -men noun suffix

Origin of charm²

First recorded in 1520–30 as cherme, dialect variant of chirm “noise, din,” perhaps associated with charm ¹ ( def. ) (in the sense “chanting of a magic verse”)

Word History and Origins

Origin of charm¹

C13: from Old French charme, from Latin carmen song, incantation, from canere to sing

Origin of charm²

C16: variant of _chirm

Idioms and Phrases

• (charm the) pants off
• work like a charm

Example Sentences

Lee successfully managed to reduce tariffs on South Korea down to 15%, and during a recent trip to the White House he appeared to charm the president.

From BBC

He’s a joy to watch, charming and appropriately intense when the material calls for it, without being over-the-top.

From Salon

While they tend to possess natural intellectual gifts or charm, they are often lacking in formal education or concrete expertise.

From Salon

State visits are a form of soft power diplomacy, using the royal charm offensive to build relations with important international partners - with none more important than the US.

From BBC

With this role, Redford showed that persistence, not bravado, could carry a movie, and that a star could trade charm for credibility without losing magnetism.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• attract 
• beguile 
• bewitch 
• cajole 
• captivate 
• delight 
• enamor 
• enrapture 
• enthrall 
• fascinate 
• hypnotize 
• mesmerize 
• please 
• tickle 
• wow