enthrall
AmericanOther Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of enthrall
Explanation
When something is so fascinating that it holds all your attention, it is said to enthrall — whether it's a thrilling action-adventure film, a breathtaking work of art, or even the person you have a crush on. If you’ve even fallen under someone’s spell, it won’t surprise you to learn that when enthrall first entered the English language it carried the meaning of “to hold in mental or moral bondage” or “to enslave.” Nowadays the verb enthrall is used to describe something so wonderful and captivating that the person experiencing it feels like a slave. If you enthrall someone, you make them powerless — in a sense, a slave to your charms.
Vocabulary lists containing enthrall
100 SAT Words Beginning with "E"
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The Witch of Blackbird Pond
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The Awakening
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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.
Debt securities aren’t generally what enthrall young reporters.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
Vuong is a lauded poet whose paragraphs are shot through with sentences that enthrall and often land with a philosopher’s wisdom and economy.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2025
Untangling that knot is how "Fiddler" managed to enthrall Jewish Americans.
From Salon • Jul. 8, 2023
From the world-famous Keukenhof garden in the Netherlands to the magical bluebell Hallerbos forest in Belgium, they are out there again, almost on cue to enthrall, enthuse and soothe the mind.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 17, 2023
"The Wonderful Shell" is a veritable prose poem, and there is magic and wonderful imagery about "Pikoi the Rat-Killer" which will enthrall the youngsters and entertain their elders.
From Legends of Gods and Ghosts (Hawaiian Mythology) Collected and Translated from the Hawaiian by Westervelt, W. D. (William Drake)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
