- present participle of fascinate.
fascinating
Americanadjective
adjective
-
arousing great interest
-
enchanting or alluring
a fascinating woman
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of fascinating
First recorded in 1640–50; fascinat(e) + -ing 2
Explanation
Something fascinating really captures your interest: you can't take your eyes off it or can't wait to learn more about it. To a sports fan, a basketball game may be fascinating, including the smallest details, like who got the most assists and what kind of defense was played. Music fans find concerts fascinating. Many people think politics is fascinating — they can't get enough TV and magazine stories about the latest political events. Whatever you think is fascinating, it must really hold your attention: you always want to see and know more.
Vocabulary lists containing fascinating
12 More Interesting Ways to Say "interesting"
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Pay Attention! Synonyms for "Interesting"
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From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
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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.
One of the phenomena examined in “Out of Time” is why more Pompeiians didn’t flee during or after the foreshadowing earthquakes, and that’s a fascinating area of study all its own.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
He must have spent more time outside London in the years running up to his premiership than any other modern prime minister - and it's fascinating to see where that's landed him.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
And as such, Neill was a fount of fascinating stories and notable quotables — products of keeping his eyes open to all of the world’s strange beauty.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
Except, in the midst of that project, McElwee’s focus shifts, delightfully, to his disastrous love life and the fascinating women he meets in his travels, becoming a deeply humane examination of modern courtship.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026
This was all quite fascinating for the general spectator, but Bobby Fischer hadn’t come to look at chess sets.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
