infatuate

[verb in-fach-oo-eyt; adjective, noun in-fach-oo-it, -eyt]

See more synonyms for infatuate on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), in·fat·u·at·ed, in·fat·u·at·ing.

to inspire or possess with a foolish or unreasoning passion, as of love.
to affect with folly; make foolish or fatuous.

adjective

infatuated.

noun

a person who is infatuated.

Origin of infatuate

1425–75; late Middle English < Latin infatuātus, past participle of infatuāre. See in-², fatuous, -ate¹

Related formsin·fat·u·a·tor, nounself-in·fat·u·at·ed, adjectiveun·in·fat·u·at·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for infatuated

charmed, smitten, possessed, enamored, inflamed, intoxicated, spellbound, bewitched, fascinated, enraptured, besotted, foolish, silly

Examples from the Web for infatuated

Contemporary Examples of infatuated

He was egotistical even as a child, it is noted, infatuated with the sight of his name on a rubber stamp and later as a byline.
My Friend, Roger Ebert: Pulitzer Prize Winner Tom Shales on the Moving Documentary ‘Life Itself’
Tom Shales
July 6, 2014
Greenspan was infatuated with all sorts of markets, including financial ones.
Roger Ferguson Is Wall Street’s Fantasy for Federal Reserve Chairman
Daniel Gross
September 24, 2013

Historical Examples of infatuated

This was the consequence of his infatuated attachment to Lady Hamilton.
The Life of Horatio Lord Nelson
Robert Southey
I must be infatuated, or I should scorn to regret him as I do.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
Anne Bronte
I went to all the bull-fights, and was infatuated with them.
My Double Life
Sarah Bernhardt
Her infatuated husband thought he was getting along famously.
One Day's Courtship
Robert Barr
Ultimately he became so infatuated by her that he asked her to marry him, which she agreed to do.
A Zola Dictionary
J. G. Patterson

British Dictionary definitions for infatuated

infatuated

adjective

(often foll by with) possessed by a foolish or extravagant passion, esp for another person

Derived Formsinfatuatedly, adverb

infatuate

verb (ɪnˈfætjʊˌeɪt) (tr)

to inspire or fill with foolish, shallow, or extravagant passion
to cause to act foolishly

adjective (ɪnˈfætjʊɪt, -ˌeɪt)

an archaic word for infatuated

noun (ɪnˈfætjʊɪt, -ˌeɪt)

literary a person who is infatuated

Word Origin for infatuate

C16: from Latin infatuāre, from in- ² + fatuus fatuous

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for infatuated

infatuate

1530s, "turn (something) to foolishness, frustrate," from Latin infatuatus, past participle of infatuare "make a fool of," from in- "in" (see in- (2)) + fatuus "foolish." Specific sense of "inspire (in someone) a foolish romantic passion" is from 1620s. Related: Infatuated; infatuating.