mesmerize
Americanverb (used with object)
-
mesmerizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
mesmerized,
past participle, past
-
mesmerizing
present participle
-
to completely capture the attention of; spellbind; fascinate.
This young pianist has mesmerized audiences with her incredible technique and range of musical expression.
-
to hypnotize or put into a trancelike state; cause (someone) to be open to the power of suggestion or unable to act on their own.
According to ancient myth, the song of the sea nymphs mesmerized sailors, drawing them into disastrous waters.
-
to cause or compel through fascination or by hypnotizing.
Advertising can easily mesmerize us into thinking that wealth is the same as money and possessions.
In this game scene, the warriors do not know they’ve been mesmerized into the service of the enemy.
verb
-
a former word for hypnotize
-
to hold (someone) as if spellbound
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
mesmerizesimple
-
mesmerizessimple
-
have mesmerizedperfect
-
has mesmerizedperfect
-
am mesmerizingprogressive
-
are mesmerizingprogressive
-
is mesmerizingprogressive
-
have been mesmerizingperfect progressive
-
has been mesmerizingperfect progressive
Past
-
mesmerizedsimple
-
had mesmerizedperfect
-
was mesmerizingprogressive
-
were mesmerizingprogressive
-
had been mesmerizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of mesmerize
First recorded in 1820–30; back formation from mesmerism
Explanation
You meet someone and you can’t take your eyes off them, like you are connected by an invisible cord and can’t break free. Those kinds of people have the power to mesmerize, holding your attention like you’re under hypnosis. The word mesmerize comes from the last name of 18th century German physician Franz Mesmer, who believed that all people and objects are pulled together by a strong magnetic force, later called mesmerism. If you ever start to feel mesmerized, maybe it’s because you find someone fascinating, or maybe you’ve been hypnotized by a magician. Hard to tell from here.
Vocabulary lists containing mesmerize
National Spelling Bee '14: Prelims Round 2
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
100 SAT Words Beginning with "M"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Stargirl
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Still there is the natural arm talent that can mesmerize with effortless form and quick release.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 18, 2023
This was the first domestic event since CNN’s creation in 1980 to mesmerize the nation with saturation coverage by cable television.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 7, 2023
Sociologist Jean Boudrillard called the social world a "simulacrum," a hyper-reality full of noise, images, and symbols designed to mesmerize the mind and replace the boring real world.
From Salon ● Apr. 30, 2022
After multiple viewings, “Plot Point” still leaves me mostly mystified, and not intriguingly so; it doesn’t mesmerize in the way of her remarkable “Emergence.”
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 22, 2022
He smiles, but it doesn’t mesmerize me like the day I first saw him at his house.
From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson
Not yet 30, the energetically self-assured German refugee soon mesmerizes the narrator and his four closest classmates—Aharon, Dan, Yair and Aya, the only female among them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
As a gorgeously conceptual art-horror object, “El Conde” frequently mesmerizes; as a proper evisceration of its subject, it can’t help but feel curiously defanged.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2023
But he also mesmerizes the cops to salute him and Laszlo by telling them he's Captain "Sully" Sullenberger and Laszlo is Tom Selleck's character from "Blue Bloods."
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2023
But what really mesmerizes are the windows, and the speculations they invite about who lives behind them.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 9, 2022
And if we find that any material thing so mesmerizes us that we are held in fatal bondage, we are to sacrifice it.
From My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year by John Henry Jowett
“I was just kind of mesmerized looking at it,” DeVogelaere said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson later recalled being mesmerized by the album, the first record, to his mind, that didn’t have any filler.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
“Son of Sam just mesmerized everybody for a long period,” recalled Michael Oreskes, then a reporter for the Daily News, whereas “LaGuardia was a one-time thing that then nobody could explain, nobody could figure out.”
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
“It may be,” Mr. Meese says, “that he became mesmerized with the—what did they call it? What was the name of the woman who was the reporter that wrote about the Supreme Court?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
I'm mesmerized by what she chooses to adopt from American culture.
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
He proved a natural for the medium: handsome with a beautiful voice and mesmerizing eyes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Challenged with creating movements that speak to character and story, layering a bold, physical narrative over a written one, this season’s Emmy-nominated choreographers made mesmerizing scenes come to life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
America’s most-loved fictional titans, Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne, have bottomless wealth to fund their vigilante adventures, making them especially mesmerizing to an audience raised on rags-to-riches fables.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Lisa Foiles posted a tribute on Facebook, writing, “It doesn’t feel fair when we lose one of our own. Christy was mesmerizing to me on ‘All That.’
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
But the results were mesmerizing, and tonight was no exception.
From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older
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.
