fascination
Americannoun
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the power or action of fascinating.
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the state or an instance of being fascinated.
They watched in fascination.
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a fascinating quality; powerful attraction; charm.
the fascination of foreign travel.
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Cards. a form of solitaire.
Etymology
Origin of fascination
1595–1605; < Latin fascinātiōn- (stem of fascinātiō ) a bewitching. See fascinate, -ion
Explanation
If diamondback turtles hold a certain fascination for you, you know everything there is to know about them, you talk about them all the time, and maybe you've embroidered one on your pillowcase. Fascination is an irresistible attraction. Be careful to use the right preposition: you've got a fascination with handsome princes, but handsome princes hold a fascination for you. When you have a fascination, it's as if you're bewitched, and — what do you know? — the word goes back to the Latin fascinare, which means "cast a spell on."
Vocabulary lists containing fascination
The Cay
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"The Witch Boy" by Molly Knox Ostertag
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Schooled
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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.
One of the most unusual examples was his fascination with solo saxophone improvisations, notably on the appropriately titled “The Solo Album.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026
Stables is entirely self-taught as an archaeologist and began excavating the site out of a personal fascination with the village's prehistoric past.
From Science Daily • May 20, 2026
In 1986, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert dedicated a full episode of their syndicated series “At the Movies” to sounding the alarm about the industry’s fascination with colorizing black-and-white films.
From Salon • May 8, 2026
All the painted portraits that exist of her were made after her lifetime, creating a mystery around what she actually looked like and making her appearance the subject of fascination and debate for centuries.
From BBC • May 1, 2026
When they woke up, with the sun already high in the sky, they were speechless with fascination.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
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.
