infatuation
Americannoun
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infatuations
plural
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the state of being infatuated.
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the act of infatuating.
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foolish or all-absorbing passion or an instance of this.
a mere infatuation that will not last.
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the object of a person's infatuation.
When I was a kid, my infatuation was stamp collecting.
noun
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the act of infatuating or state of being infatuated
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foolish or extravagant passion
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an object of foolish or extravagant passion
Usage
What does infatuation mean? Infatuation is the state of being infatuated—being absorbed with an extreme passion for someone or something, especially in a way that makes you foolish or unreasonable about it. Infatuation is often used to refer to the state of someone who has fallen in love with a person without really knowing them. But it can refer to any obsessive or passionate focus, such as on an activity or goal. A person who’s affected this way can be described as infatuated. The word infatuation can also refer to the object of this focus, as in Who’s that you’re staring at—your latest infatuation? Someone or something considered an infatuation can be described as infatuating. Much less commonly, infatuation can refer to the act of infatuating. Example: Your infatuation with him is clouding your judgment.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of infatuation
First recorded in 1640–50, infatuation is from the Late Latin word infatuātiōn- (stem of infatuātiō ). See infatuate, -ion
Explanation
Infatuation is falling in love with or becoming extremely interested in someone or something for a short time. If you have an infatuation with a particular singer, you probably listen to her on repeat all day long, at least this week. If something infatuates you, it has caused you to become foolish. We say you have an infatuation when you express a crazy, extreme love of something––a person, a style, a band, anything. Infatuations usually don’t last. Like incredibly intense crushes or the stomach flu, infatuations come on strong and then get forgotten.
Vocabulary lists containing infatuation
Aretha Franklin (1942 - 2018) Tribute List
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The Princess Bride
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George Washington's Farewell Address (1796)
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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:
In his opening address on Monday, prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC described how Lamarre-Condon had developed an "obsessive and jealous infatuation" with Baird after a brief romantic relationship.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
For him, the data centre project is born of "infatuation with all things digital" and "developing AI at breakneck speed in all directions".
From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026
It was a crazed type of infatuation with stardom, not generated from me, but at me.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
Marianne is first consumed by her own infatuation, then disconsolate when Willoughby dumps her for an heiress, and finally felled by a fever.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025
Theo hasn’t confessed his infatuation with Jo to Dries—he’s still seeing S., after all.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
His late ’90s breakthrough in the triple-hitter lineup of “Halloween: H20,” “The Faculty” and “The Virgin Suicides” catapulted him to international fame practically overnight, cementing his place alongside the era’s Tiger Beat celebrity infatuations.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026
She didn’t invent the idea of catchy songs about infatuations and breakups where the protagonist’s experience can be mapped to a singer’s life, but she perfected it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Justine Wewers, a high school geography teacher in Minnesota’s Anoka-Hennepin district, said she has seen a wearying number of student infatuations over the years, including video games, “Uno” and fidget spinners.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 15, 2023
Zac returned to Nashville to record drums on the band’s 2017 album, “After Laughter” — a 12-track dance-off with depression that conjured the world-music infatuations of new wave groups like Talking Heads.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2022
Occasionally one of her infatuations would culminate in a lunch or coffee date, an encounter on which she would pin all her hopes but which would lead to nothing.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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.
