rapt
Americanadjective
-
deeply engrossed or absorbed.
a rapt listener.
-
transported with emotion; enraptured.
rapt with joy.
- Synonyms:
- bewitched, spellbound, ecstatic
-
showing or proceeding from rapture.
a rapt smile.
-
carried off spiritually to another place, sphere of existence, etc.
adjective
-
totally absorbed; engrossed; spellbound, esp through or as if through emotion
rapt with wonder
-
characterized by or proceeding from rapture
a rapt smile
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of rapt
First recorded in 1350–1400; from Middle English, past participle of rapen “to carry off, abduct, rape,” from Latin raptus “seized, carried off,” past participle of rapere
Explanation
To be rapt is to be carried away, caught up, or otherwise engrossed in something. If a performer is really good or particularly mesmerizing, the audience will be totally rapt. Rapt developed from the Latin raptus, meaning to “seize, carry off." So imagine something so interesting that it seizes your attention and carries you off to another world. In fact, rapt is related to the word rapture, which is an experience of extreme, other-worldly happiness. So do your teacher a favor and give her your rapt attention during math class.
Vocabulary lists containing rapt
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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"Of Mice and Men"
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Grade 11, List 3
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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.
Rapt visitors can feast their eyes on a "stunning collection of breadboards and bread knives, butter dishes, butter knives, cheeseboards and related items dating from the 1840s".
From BBC • Oct. 20, 2018
Rapt crowds greeted Pope Francis in Cuba, but some dissidents said they were prevented from meeting him.
From New York Times • Sep. 21, 2015
Recorded in 2006 and 2007, she says the songs are “the soundtrack to what was an ever continuing love crusade,” a sentiment certainly mirrored on this taster track Rapt.
From The Guardian • Aug. 6, 2014
Most of his titles, such as Rapt at Rappaport's, are as abstract as the paintings, in most of which the only recognizable objects are a few scattered words.
From Time Magazine Archive
Rapt by his Steeds he flies in open Day, Throws up the Reins, and skims the watry Way.
From Letters Concerning Poetical Translations And Virgil's and Milton's Arts of Verse, &c. by Benson, William
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.
