enchain
Americanverb (used with object)
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enchains,
present (3rd person singular)
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enchained,
past participle, past
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enchaining
present participle
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to bind in or as in chain or chains; fetter; restrain.
to be enchained by ignorance and superstition.
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to hold fast, as the attention.
verb
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to bind with chains
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to hold fast or captivate (the attention, etc)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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enchainsimple
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enchainssimple
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have enchainedperfect
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has enchainedperfect
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am enchainingprogressive
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are enchainingprogressive
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is enchainingprogressive
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have been enchainingperfect progressive
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has been enchainingperfect progressive
Past
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enchainedsimple
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had enchainedperfect
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was enchainingprogressive
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were enchainingprogressive
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had been enchainingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of enchain
1350–1400; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French enchainer, enchaener. See en- 1, chain
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:
As Johnson wrote, “to enchain syllables, and to lash the wind, are equally the undertakings of pride, unwilling to measure its desires by its strength.”
From Slate ● May 31, 2012
At every approach of horseman, cart, or carriage, I turned fearfully, certain I should see some minister of injustice come to enchain us.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
Tie your knots, she sang again and again, enchain! — enchain! — enchain me!
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
A grey church tower, a windmill, or the dark-brown sail of a wherry in the distance breaks the sense of utter loneliness, but the scene is wild enough to enchain the imagination of many.
From The Handbook to the Rivers and Broads of Norfolk & Suffolk by G. Christopher Davies
Abstaining from merely theoretical speculations, he exhibits a profound insight into the operation of political causes, which he unfolds with great sagacity, and in a manner suited to enchain the attention of the reader.
From Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol 1-98, 1850-1899 None by Various (magazine) Harper
The willing listen to him from delight, the unwilling and opposite minded because he enchains them.
From The Prince of India — Volume 01 by Lewis Wallace
There is nothing that so fascinates and enchains the imagination of men as power in another man.
From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 7 by Charles Dudley Warner
It enchains him for life; I have seen it in too many cases—I am not mistaken.
From Dennison Grant: a Novel of To-day by Robert J. C. Stead
Can this be delusion, or infatuation, or is it a species of witchery that thus deceives, enchains, and blinds a people, in all other respects of quick imagination and natural talents?
From Auricular Confession and Popish Nunneries Volumes I. and II., Complete by William Hogan
A voice less austere meanwhile enchains the captive ear of the poet.
From International Weekly Miscellany — Volume 1, No. 3, July 15, 1850 by Various
When we first encounter the character, enchained in the dungeon at the opening of Act II, Florestan rises from exhaustion and cries out, “Gott! welch’ Dunkel hier!”
From New York Times ● Mar. 17, 2017
“With regard to black people, I think they are tired of seeing themselves enchained and downtrodden.”
From New York Times ● May 18, 2016
If my imagination weren't enchained by so much witless tradition and conformity, I might tag this segment to some more majestic and impromptu pattern of my own devising, one that reaches clear across the ecliptic.
From Slate ● Jul. 12, 2012
Yet Berger's children of enchained emotions project their fancy into a world of living color, an incarnation of their wildest dreams.
From Time Magazine Archive
Eisman was enchained, however, by FrontPoint Partners and, by extension, Morgan Stanley.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
The Russian literature, which is at present enchaining the attention of the civilized world, is a brilliant variation of this theme, an imaginative commentary on this text.
From Essays on Scandinavian Literature by Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen
And all these marvelous changes imparted to love that sweet sadness which is beyond all words poetic and enchaining.
From The Man Between, an International Romance by Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr
Was there freedom, was there enchaining, was there even a height rising from higher.
From Geography and Plays by Gertrude Stein
The question let loose in her heart and mind all that was emotional, at the same time enchaining her to the spot where she stood.
From The Pagan Madonna by W. H. D. (William Henry Dethlef) Koerner
The present book is a romance of the sword, full of charming local color, true to life as it is in Japan, and full of deep and enchaining interest.
From Ticknor and Company Book Catalog (1887) by Ticknor and Company
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