transfix
Americanverb (used with object)
-
transfixes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
transfixed,
past participle, past
-
transfixt,
past participle, past
-
transfixing
present participle
verb
-
to render motionless, esp with horror or shock
-
to impale or fix with a sharp weapon or other device
-
med to cut through (a limb or other organ), as in amputation
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
transfixsimple
-
transfixessimple
-
have transfixedperfect
-
have transfixtperfect
-
has transfixedperfect
-
has transfixtperfect
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am transfixingprogressive
-
are transfixingprogressive
-
is transfixingprogressive
-
have been transfixingperfect progressive
-
has been transfixingperfect progressive
Past
-
transfixedsimple
-
transfixtsimple
-
had transfixedperfect
-
had transfixtperfect
-
was transfixingprogressive
-
were transfixingprogressive
-
had been transfixingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of transfix
1580–90; < Latin trānsfīxus (past participle of trānsfīgere to pierce through), equivalent to trāns- trans- + fīg ( ere ) to pierce + -sus, variant of -tus past participle suffix
Explanation
Use the verb transfix when something makes you freeze in fascination or fear. Your belly dancing moves might transfix your dance recital audience. You might describe the way the last minutes of a scary movie transfix your whole family, leaving them on the edge of their seats, or how the photographs in a gallery transfix you with their beauty. The word comes from transfixus, "impaled" in Latin, which in turn is rooted in trans, "through or across," and figere, "to fasten."
Vocabulary lists containing transfix
Power Prefix: trans-
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Things Fall Apart
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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.
See Examples For:
As the exhibit’s days count down, the inspired visions from Kahlo, Rivera and their contemporaries continue to transfix visitors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
He studies Beard’s practice with that kind of fascination that shows how a puzzle such as basketball can transfix some human brains forever.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 8, 2021
They transfix even in the absence of any discernible event.
From New York Times ● Nov. 26, 2020
A sign of her charisma is that during the final tableau, as Aida and Radamès are expiring in the tomb, Amneris continues to transfix the attention: even when she isn’t singing, she dominates the stage.
From The New Yorker ● Oct. 4, 2018
The changing patterns of light transfix my sight.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
This Eden is enhanced by the birth of a son, Elio, whose beauty transfixes all who see him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Odenkirk's dramatic breadth transfixes the viewer wherever he turns up.
From Salon ● Mar. 19, 2023
At its best, “Strange Beasts” transfixes you like a vivid dream, offering glimpses of the waking world contorted into uncanny forms.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 14, 2021
And, at the end of the day, a sport that both transfixes and repels did both again.
From New York Times ● May 1, 2021
The flashing of white, pink, and green briefly transfixes me.
From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson
That, essentially, is the made-for-TMZ drama that has transfixed China over the past weeks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Even though our granny was, like all people in the mountains, well acquainted with Dolly by that point, she was still transfixed.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
He was hopeless at math and likely dyslexic, but said he was utterly transfixed by music.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Block described staring up at the gallery wall, transfixed by the horror.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
The years just seemed to roll right off them, and I watched transfixed as they laughed like rascals and raced each other, then swam leisurely back to the bank.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
From being transfixt by such a jibe Maupassant was preserved by Flaubert.
From Inquiries and Opinions by Brander Matthews
Had I but once transfixt thy froward breast, How would’st thou then——I staid not for the rest; But thus half angry to the boy replide: How would’st thou then my soul of sense bereave!
From Democritus Platonissans by Henry More
Therefore we'll parry with cloak what shafts thou shootest against us; And by our bolts transfixt, penalty due thou shalt pay.
From The Carmina of Caius Valerius Catullus by Sir Richard Francis Burton
Our critic praised the acting, saying “A quietly transfixing performance from Ayo Edebiri provides reason enough to see the Broadway revival.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Who impressed, and who has the most to do after a transfixing opening weekend of the Six Nations?
From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2026
“Macbeth” may be Shakespeare’s most transfixing tragedy, but its dark magic often fizzles in the theater.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2025
You’ll hear highlights from both of her albums along with a transfixing demo and recordings of two other artists, the Turtles and Nash’s first band the Hollies, interpreting her songs.
From New York Times ● Apr. 12, 2024
He towered above the other two men as he stood there transfixing them with his resentful glance, his brow heavy with threat and anger.
From Sir Henry Morgan, Buccaneer A Romance of the Spanish Main by Will Crawford
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.
