fascination
Americannoun
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the power or action of fascinating. fascinating.
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the state or an instance of being fascinated.
They watched in fascination.
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a fascinating 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.
He has recalled watching an Alfa Romeo tear through the Rallye Côte d’Ivoire, an encounter he credits with igniting a lifelong fascination with cars.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
She connects with Salonen’s pioneering fascination with technology and the orchestra.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026
He has lived through the shift in attitude towards Bigfoot hunting as he recalled being ridiculed for his fascination with Bigfoot, which began when he was about nine.
From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026
James Fishback is almost certainly not going to win the GOP nomination for governor of Florida this year, but he’s become an object of media fascination all the same.
From Salon • Mar. 20, 2026
But then, unless the fascination is too powerful, there comes the point when keeping still is discarded and the rabbit, as though breaking a spell, turns in an instant to its other resource—flight.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
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.
