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
The spellbound astronauts pinned themselves to the windows, the first humans to see the far side of our nearest celestial neighbour.
From BBC • Aug. 8, 2025
Within a couple of minutes, it snakes all the way back to the entrance, populated by doting parents and spellbound preteens hoping they arrived in time.
From New York Times • May 24, 2024
Whitney Houston is luxury displaced, spellbound, chased away.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 1, 2023
Little Charlie Bucket was staring at her absolutely spellbound, watching her huge rubbery lips as they pressed and unpressed with the chewing, and Grandpa Joe stood beside him, gaping at the girl.
From "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl
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.
