smitten

[smit-n]

adjective

1. overwhelmed with attraction or affection toward someone or something.

2. struck, such as with a hard blow.

3. grievously or disastrously stricken or afflicted.

verb

1. a past participle of smite.

smitten

/ ˈsmɪtən /

verb

1. a past participle of smite

adjective

1. (postpositive) affected by love (for)

Other Word Forms

• unsmitten adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of smitten¹

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English; equivalent to smite + -en ³

Example Sentences

She notes that only recently has she become smitten with fountain pens.

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Walking on the beach, I was almost too smitten to feel embarrassed by his very European Speedo.

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A source told the magazine that the actors are “smitten with each other.”

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I was instantly smitten, and he left me wanting more.

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Practice exposure therapy — when you see a smitten couple engaging in a sweet moment, don’t look away out of shame or jealousy.

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When To Use

What does smitten mean?

Smitten is most popularly used to mean deeply in love.It can also mean infatuated due to being extremely impressed or fond of someone or something, as in I’m just smitten with your new hairstyle or She’s smitten with her new granddaughter. Another way to say any of these things is in love.In a more negative sense, smitten can mean severely or intensely affected or afflicted, such as by illness.All of these senses derive from the fact that smitten is the past participle of the verb smite, which means to strike, damage, injure, attack, or afflict. While smite is often associated with archaic uses (such as its use in the King James Bible to refer to the wrath of God), most senses of the word smitten don’t have this association.Example: I can tell just by the look in your eyes that you’re smitten. What’s his name?