entranced

IPA/ɪnˈtrɑːnst/
KK[ɪntrˈænst]IPA/ɪnˈtrænst/

entranced — adjective

  • entrancedpositive
  • more entrancedcomparative
  • most entrancedsuperlative

1. so completely absorbed by something beautiful or fascinating that you stop notic

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

so completely absorbed by something beautiful or fascinating that you stop noticing everything else around you and cannot pull your attention away

Example

Ritu sat entranced through the entire ballet, barely moving a muscle.

entranced + through [event/duration]

The children were entranced by Zayd's stories about wild animals in Africa.

entranced + by [stimulus] — passive structure

Common collocations
  • completely entranced
  • entranced by
  • entranced with
  • sit entranced
  • stand entranced
  • remain entranced
Synonyms
  • captivated

    very similar in meaning; 'captivated' is slightly less intense and more common in everyday speech

  • spellbound

    implies a stronger, almost magical hold on the attention

  • enchanted

    suggests a gentle, pleasant kind of delight, often from beauty or charm

  • mesmerised

    suggests being hypnotised or held motionless by something intensely interesting

Antonyms
  • bored

    the opposite of being captivated; feeling uninterested

  • indifferent

    not affected one way or another; lacking any emotional response

Grammar Patterns

entranced + by + noun phrase

Usage Note

Often followed by 'by' (entranced by something) to introduce the captivating thing, but can also stand alone with an optional prepositional phrase.

Common Mistakes

I was entranced with the beautiful garden.
I was entranced by the beautiful garden.
Use 'by' rather than 'with' to name the thing that captivates you.

entranced — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe a state of strong fascination, but they differ in intensity and flavour. 'Captivated' is the most common and neutral; you can be captivated by a book, a person, or a sunset without any supernatural suggestion. 'Spellbound' is stronger — it implies that you cannot move or look away, as though under a magic spell, and works well for suspenseful or dramatic experiences. 'Enchanted' is lighter and more positive, often used for delightful, charming things like a child's smile or a fairy tale. 'Mesmerised' comes from hypnotism and suggests a trance-like fixation; someone mesmerised is staring without blinking, completely unaware of their surroundings. Of the four, 'entranced' sits between 'spellbound' and 'captivated' — it is more poetic than 'captivated' but less intense than 'spellbound'. For example, you might say 'The children were captivated by the puppet show', but 'The children sat entranced through the entire performance' suggests deeper absorption.

captivated ↗spellbound ↗enchanted ↗mesmerised

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • sit entranced
  • stand entranced
  • remain entranced
  • watch entranced
  • listen entranced

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

The word 'entrance' comes from the Old French 'entrancer', meaning 'to put into a trance'. The French word is based on 'transir' (to die, to depart), from Latin 'transire' (to go across, to pass over). The idea is that someone in a trance has 'passed over' into another state of consciousness. The figurative sense—'to fill with delight'—developed in the 1500s, using the same image of being carried away from ordinary awareness, but this time by beauty or joy rather than by hypnotic suggestion.

First known use

1569

1569, in the meaning defined at sense 1