- present participle of mesmerize.
mesmerizing
Americanadjective
-
completely engrossing; captivating or fascinating.
He spoke to us extemporaneously for at least two hours, weaving a mesmerizing tapestry of wisdom.
-
hypnotic or hypnotizing; having a trancelike effect similar to hypnosis.
The song’s simple repetition of the word “Hallelujah” is comforting, mesmerizing, and uplifting.
Etymology
Origin of mesmerizing
Explanation
If something catches and holds your attention, as if by magic, it's mesmerizing. You might find yourself unable to look away from the mesmerizing display of fireworks overhead. In the 1780s, an Austrian doctor named Franz Mesmer developed a popular medical treatment based on hypnosis. The word mesmerizing comes from his last name, and it originally described actions that induced a hypnotic state. Today it's used for enthralling or fascinating things, like falling snow, your cat's eyes, a sonorous voice reading you a story, or someone who's so wonderful you can't stop thinking about them.
Vocabulary lists containing mesmerizing
The Best at It
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Pelé (1940–2022) Tribute List
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The Infinite Questions of Dottie Bing
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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.
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
The other actor whose presence deeply impacted the production, Nolan reports, is Samantha Morton, mesmerizing as Circe, the goddess who changes Odysseus’ men into swine.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
His moves and fakes, practice-perfected and charmingly earthbound, make him a mesmerizing threat.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
They swayed in unison, some to the left, some to the right, with slow, mesmerizing movements.
From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins
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.
