hypnotism

American  

[hip-nuh-tiz-uhm] / ˈhɪp nəˌtɪz əm /

noun

1. the science dealing with the induction of hypnosis.

2. the act of hypnotizing.

3. hypnosis.

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hypnotism British  

/ ˈhɪpnəˌtɪzəm /

noun

1. the scientific study and practice of hypnosis

2. the process of inducing hypnosis

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Other Word Forms

• hypnotist noun
• hypnotistic adjective

Etymology

Origin of hypnotism

Shortening of neuro-hypnotism, term introduced by British surgeon James Braid (1795–1860) in 1842; hypnotic, -ism

Example Sentences

This hypnotism is especially conveyed through the film’s costumes.

From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2025

The plot also includes a disturbing case of mass hypnotism and mind control.

From Washington Post • Jun. 30, 2021

I’ve gone there every couple of months or so for nearly four years, since my friend Betsy Ann Cowley bought the town from some people who had run a hypnotism school there since the mid-1990s.

From Slate • Nov. 20, 2018

And don't get me started on the implausibility of the hypnotism.

From New York Times • Dec. 20, 2017

Perhaps he was healing her with his slime—for all the fishes are said to go to the Tench for medicine—or perhaps it was by touch or massage or hypnotism.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White