spellbound
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of spellbound
Explanation
To be spellbound is to have your attention captured by something, captured so strongly it feels like witchcraft. A spell is a type of magic that controls your mind, and being bound is being tied to something. Being spellbound is when your attention is caught by something, and you just can't look away, almost as if you were bound by a spell. An exciting movie can leave you spellbound. A great public speaker can hold the audience spellbound. When you're spellbound, your attention is on something 100%. Being spellbound is like being fascinated, hypnotized, mesmerized, or transfixed.
Vocabulary lists containing spellbound
The Secret Life of Bees
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Part 4 Vocabulary (Unit 6)
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Finally Seen
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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.
A former professor of biology at the University of the South, Mr. Haskell has made a career of explaining the lives of plants to spellbound audiences.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
Wicked: For Good has received broadly positive reviews from critics - but many are far less spellbound than they were by the first film.
From BBC • Nov. 19, 2025
But Las Vegas seems spellbound by the Super Bowl, which is making its first appearance in a place that the N.F.L., not so long ago, avoided to the point of parody.
From New York Times • Feb. 8, 2024
Whitney Houston is luxury displaced, spellbound, chased away.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 1, 2023
Commons clock tower: ivied brick, white spire, spellbound in the hazy distance.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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.
