trance

¹ American  

[trans, trahns] / træns, trɑns /

noun

1. a half-conscious state, seemingly between sleeping and waking, in which ability to function voluntarily may be suspended.

2. a dazed or bewildered condition.

3. a state of complete mental absorption or deep musing.

4. an unconscious, cataleptic, or hypnotic condition.

5. Spiritualism. a temporary state in which a medium, with suspension of personal consciousness, is controlled by an intelligence from without and used as a means of communication, as from the dead.

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verb (used with object)

tranced, trancing

1. to put in a trance; stupefy.

2. to entrance; enrapture.

trance ² American  

[trahns] / trɑns /

Or transe

noun

1. a passageway, as a hallway, alley, or the like.

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verb (used without object)

tranced, trancing

1. to move or walk rapidly or briskly.

trance British  

/ trɑːns /

noun

1. a hypnotic state resembling sleep

2. any mental state in which a person is unaware or apparently unaware of the environment, characterized by loss of voluntary movement, rigidity, and lack of sensitivity to external stimuli

3. a dazed or stunned state

4. a state of ecstasy or mystic absorption so intense as to cause a temporary loss of consciousness at the earthly level

5. spiritualism a state in which a medium, having temporarily lost consciousness, can supposedly be controlled by an intelligence from without as a means of communication with the dead

6. a type of electronic dance music with repetitive rhythms, aiming at a hypnotic effect

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verb

1. (tr) to put into or as into a trance

Other Word Forms

• trancedly adverb
• trancelike adjective

Etymology

Origin of trance¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English traunce, trauns(e), “state of extreme dread, swoon, dazed state,” from Old French transe “passage (from life to death),” derivative of transir “to go across, pass over,” from Latin trānsīre, equivalent to trāns- trans- + īre “to go”

Origin of trance²

First recorded in 1540–50; origin uncertain; perhaps shortening of transit ( def. )

Example Sentences

As she shook water off her body the other women leaned away, but behind the reeds Dodzi leaned forward as if in a trance, to catch the precious shower.

From Literature

Notably, this trance is one of the few instances in the film when Lilian slips back into English.

From Salon

He stands in a trance and—against his better instincts—jumps into a lifeboat.

From The Wall Street Journal

He knew it would wake up his mother, that it would startle Hila out of her trance.

From Literature

She dances barefoot in a trance, her skin glowing with sweat, with her hair worn wild and loose.

From BBC

Related Words

• coma
• rapture
• reverie
• stupor
• unconsciousness