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mesmerism

American  
[mez-muh-riz-uhm, mes-] / ˈmɛz məˌrɪz əm, ˈmɛs- /

noun

  1. hypnosis as induced, according to F. A. Mesmer, through animal magnetism.

  2. hypnotism.

  3. a compelling attraction; fascination.


mesmerism British  
/ ˈmɛzməˌrɪzəm /

noun

  1. a hypnotic state induced by the operator's imposition of his will on that of the patient

  2. an early doctrine concerning this

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of mesmerism

First recorded in 1775–85; Mesmer + -ism

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.

Neither astrology nor Mesmerism nor phrenology ever approached this apogee of combined delusion and deception.

From Scientific American • Jun. 16, 2019

Mesmerism, as the stage hypnotists presented it, was the hidden basis of all deceptive arts.

From New York Times • Aug. 4, 2018

Mesmerism, galvanism, electricity, steam engines, republicanism and commercial cabbage farming all swim into view, but in colours and combinations that you will not quite have seen before.

From The Guardian • Nov. 9, 2012

Mental Healers narrates the life-history, describes the practices of three such doctor-priests—the discoverers of Mesmerism, Christian Science, Psychoanalysis.

From Time Magazine Archive

Mesmerism affects the power of transferring the operations of one sense to the organs of another; can it be that, in certain states of the brain, the nervous fluids become intermixed?

From Diary And Notes Of Horace Templeton, Esq. Volume II (of II) by Lever, Charles James