trance

[ trans, trahns ]

/ træns, trɑns /

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See synonyms for: trance / tranced / trancing on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

a dazed or bewildered condition.

a state of complete mental absorption or deep musing.

an unconscious, cataleptic, or hypnotic condition.

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.

verb (used with object), tranced, tranc·ing.

to put in a trance; stupefy.

to entrance; enrapture.

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Origin of trance

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”

OTHER WORDS FROM trance

tranced·ly

[transt-lee, tran-sid-lee], /ˈtrænst li, ˈtræn sɪd li/, adverbtrancelike, adjective

Other definitions for trance (2 of 2)

trance²

or transe

[ trahns ]

/ trɑns /

Scot.

noun

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

verb (used without object), tranced, tranc·ing.

to move or walk rapidly or briskly.

Origin of trance

First recorded in 1540–50; origin uncertain; perhaps shortening of transit

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use trance in a sentence

So have you reached that trancelike state with your new novel?
A Fierce Debut|Jennie Yabroff|March 9, 2011|DAILY BEAST
There is nothing in life more beautiful than that trancelike quiet dawn which precedes the rising of love in the soul.
The Minister's Wooing|Harriet Beecher Stowe
He looked up, and it appeared to Julie as though he were shaking off with difficulty some abnormal and trancelike state.
Lady Rose's Daughter|Mrs. Humphry Ward
Bobby Ogden, waking suddenly from his trancelike condition, leaped to his feet and ran after him.
Once to Every Man|Larry Evans

To Dan's eyes, there was something trancelike, a hint of paralysis and insensibility about her posture.
The Voice of the Pack|Edison Marshall
Twilight had not yielded to day when Odysseus awoke from his trancelike sleep, and gazed in bewilderment around him.
Stories from the Odyssey|H. L. Havell

British Dictionary definitions for trance

trance

/ (trɑːns) /

noun

a hypnotic state resembling sleep

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

a dazed or stunned state

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

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

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

verb

(tr) to put into or as into a trance

Derived forms of trance

trancelike, adjective

Word Origin for trance

C14: from Old French transe, from transir to faint, pass away, from Latin trānsīre to go over, from trans- + īre to go

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

trance

Origin of trance

OTHER WORDS FROM trance

Other definitions for trance (2 of 2)

or transe

Origin of trance

Words related to trance

How to use trance in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for trance

Derived forms of trance

Word Origin for trance