fascinate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
fascinates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fascinated,
past participle, past
-
fascinating
present participle
-
to attract and hold attentively by a unique power, personal charm, unusual nature, or some other special quality; enthrall.
His natural vivacity fascinates and dominates his audience, leading them wherever he will.
-
to arouse the interest or curiosity of.
As I learned about ancient Egyptian religion, I found elements that fascinated me.
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to transfix or deprive of the power of resistance, as through terror.
The sight of the snake fascinated the rabbit.
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Obsolete. to bewitch.
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Obsolete. to cast under a spell by a look.
verb (used without object)
-
fascinates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fascinated,
past participle, past
-
fascinating
present participle
verb
-
to attract and delight by arousing interest or curiosity
his stories fascinated me for hours
-
to render motionless, as with a fixed stare or by arousing terror or awe
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archaic to put under a spell
Usage
A person can be fascinated by or with another person or thing. It is correct to speak of someone's fascination with a person or thing; one can also say a person or thing has a fascination for someone
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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fascinatesimple
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fascinatessimple
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have fascinatedperfect
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has fascinatedperfect
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am fascinatingprogressive
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are fascinatingprogressive
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is fascinatingprogressive
-
have been fascinatingperfect progressive
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has been fascinatingperfect progressive
Past
-
fascinatedsimple
-
had fascinatedperfect
-
was fascinatingprogressive
-
were fascinatingprogressive
-
had been fascinatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fascinate
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin fascinātus, past participle of fascināre “to bewitch, cast a spell on,” verbal derivative of fascinum “evil spell, bewitchment”
Explanation
Anything that sparks your interest or makes you wonder has the ability to fascinate. If you catch someone's interest, and then hold it, you fascinate them. Be careful. The word fascinate actually comes from Latin and French words meaning "witchcraft," and although these days fascinate is used under much tamer circumstances, there is some sense in the word that the person's appeal is not quite normal: there might be a spell-like quality to his or her charms. Thus, the word is often used to describe a new love. On the other hand, you might find the study of exotic beetles fascinating. To each his own.
Vocabulary lists containing fascinate
Woman Hollering Creek
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I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005
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Lessons 2–3
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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.
See Examples For:
There are already a number of nonfiction projects about the case; weird killers always fascinate the public, as do attractive victims: The perky, blond Maddie and Kaylee were lifelong friends.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
In Italy, where she has no public role, Catherine seemed to fascinate people.
From BBC ● May 14, 2026
But the subject also appears to fascinate him.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2025
“In her 1970 tome ‘The Complete Book of Magic and Witchcraft,’ Kathryn Paulsen said, ‘You may fascinate a woman by giving her a piece of cheese.’
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2025
Her neighbors despise the creatures that fascinate her.
From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman
“His process fascinates me to no end,” said Robby Fletcher, a Goth Babe fan who has been to four of his shows.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
That soccer thrives on the genius and physical prowess of human beings, which also means that the possibility of failure makes it profoundly dramatic, fascinates Luna.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026
As a writer who is both gay and old enough to have watched the internet explode into the nefarious monster it’s become, the way language transforms online both irks and fascinates me.
From Salon ● May 10, 2026
"Their war cry is 'let's live life, let's live it healthily, let's live well,' and obviously this fascinates me."
From Barron's ● May 5, 2026
But she is cruel because she doesn’t care what she does, as long as it fascinates her.
From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
Ever the humanist, fascinated by ordinary people taking on otherwise herculean tasks to the point of obsession, Herzog resolved decades ago to make a film inspired by the sisters.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
I, who am none of those things, was also fascinated by how this guy did what he did.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
I left Cramer that day feeling both deeply fascinated by his story and slightly depressed.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
He has also been fascinated by reptiles for most of his life and has long supported zoos, museums, and natural history.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
One of those newly fascinated by the possibility of spirit communication was First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
It "made me realise how very lucky I've been in my life," she said, "working with Childline and the Silver Line, and meeting so many fascinating and inspiring people".
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
Equally fascinating was his pulling back the curtain, so to speak, on the culture of football, particularly the NFL, where the expectation for players is to follow orders and “shut up and play.”
From Salon ● Sep. 29, 2026
Displayed alongside several of Ishioka’s original design drawings, the armor offers a fascinating look at how her ideas evolved from pencil on paper into something almost anatomical.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
As last year’s documentary “Predators” so richly demonstrated, the show, trashy though it was, gives rise to serious and fascinating questions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
They might not be beautiful, but they're fascinating.
From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman
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.
