enchantment

[en-chant-muhnt, -chahnt-]

See more synonyms for enchantment on Thesaurus.com

noun

the art, act, or an instance of enchanting.
the state of being enchanted.
something that enchants: Music is an enchantment that never fails.

Origin of enchantment

1250–1300; Middle English enchantement < Anglo-French, Old French < Latin incantāmentum. See enchant, -ment

Synonyms for enchantment

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com

1. magic, sorcery, fascination, witchery. 3. spell, charm.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for enchantment

fascination, magic, sorcery, charm, witchery, rapture, attraction, happiness, allurement, captivation

Examples from the Web for enchantment

Contemporary Examples of enchantment

But I also want jazz to be loved and enjoyed, to serve as a source of enchantment and delight.
What’s With This Uncool Surge in Jazz Bashing?
Ted Gioia
November 2, 2014
But as the years go on, you learn about the oily machinery that manufactures all that enchantment.
I Joined the Peace Corps Because of Angelina Jolie
Sean Smith
January 19, 2011
This is true magic—the enchantment of love, memory, obsession, and the flawed attempts of human beings to understand themselves.
Walter Mosley's Reading List
Walter Mosley
March 24, 2009
She is the author of a novel, Enchantment, and a collection of essays, Dreaming of Hitler.
The Sexism Revival
Daphne Merkin
November 19, 2008

Historical Examples of enchantment

Those who have Imagination live in a land of enchantment which the eyes of others cannot see.
Ballads of a Bohemian
Robert W. Service
Her mother began to feel an enchantment of peace in her presence.
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
The feeling inspired by such conditions is that of enchantment.
In the Heart of Vosges
Matilda Betham-Edwards
We were absorbing what our hearts, if not our minds, called out for: the enchantment of Egypt.
It Happened in Egypt
C. N. Williamson
The only remains of this enchantment, these spells of the imagination, rest with you.
The Letters of Robert Burns
Robert Burns

British Dictionary definitions for enchantment

enchantment

noun

the act of enchanting or state of being enchanted
a magic spell or act of witchcraft
great charm or fascination

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 enchantment

late 13c., from Old French encantement, from enchanter "bewitch, charm," from Latin incantare, literally "enchant, cast a (magic) spell upon," from in- "upon, into" (see in- (2)) + cantare "to sing" (see chant (v.)). Figurative sense of "alluring" is from 1670s. Cf. Old English galdor "song," also "spell, enchantment," from galan "to sing," source of the second element in nightingale.