hypnotism

IPA/ˈhɪpnətɪzəm/
KK[hˈɪpnətˌɪzəm]IPA/ˈhɪpnətɪzəm/

hypnotism — noun

1. the skill or use of guiding a person into a sleep-like calm where they will list

1.nounC1
Definition

the skill or use of guiding a person into a sleep-like calm where they will listen to and follow what another person tells them.

Example

Imran studied hypnotism for years before helping patients quit smoking.

common subject area: study + hypnotism

The stage performer used hypnotism to make Lauren cluck like a chicken in front of the audience.

typical context: stage performance + use hypnotism to + verb

Common collocations
  • study hypnotism
  • practice hypnotism
  • use hypnotism
  • stage hypnotism
  • clinical hypnotism
Synonyms
  • mesmerism

    older, near-archaic term tied to 18th-century practitioner Mesmer; rarely used in modern clinical contexts

  • hypnotherapy

    specifically the therapeutic application of hypnotism for treating conditions like anxiety or pain

Usage Note

Uncountable noun — never *a hypnotism* or *hypnotisms*. Distinguish from 'hypnosis': hypnotism is the practice or skill of inducing the state, while hypnosis is the trance state itself.

Common Mistakes

The therapist performed a hypnotism on me.
The therapist used hypnotism on me.
uncountable; no indefinite article.
After two hypnotisms, she felt better.
After two hypnotism sessions, she felt better.
no plural form; use 'sessions' as the countable unit.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These four words sit close together but refer to different things. 'Hypnotism' is the skill or practice of putting someone into a trance — what the practitioner does. 'Hypnosis' is the trance state itself — what the subject experiences. So a therapist uses hypnotism to induce hypnosis. 'Hypnotherapy' is narrower: the use of hypnotism specifically as a treatment, for example to help someone stop smoking or cope with anxiety. 'Mesmerism' is the historical term, named after Franz Mesmer in the 1700s, and today sounds old-fashioned or theatrical — you might hear it about a stage show, but not in a hospital. In everyday speech, people often blur 'hypnotism' and 'hypnosis', but careful writing keeps the practice and the state apart.

hypnotism ↗hypnosis ↗hypnotherapy ↗mesmerism ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • hypnotism session
  • hypnotism show
  • stage hypnotism
  • clinical hypnotism

Phrases

  • practice hypnotism
  • use hypnotism
  • study hypnotism

Prepositions

  • under hypnotism
  • through hypnotism

Etymology

GreekEnglish

Coined in 1842 by the Scottish surgeon James Braid, who built the word from Greek 'hypnos' meaning 'sleep' plus the suffix '-ism' marking a practice or doctrine. Braid wanted a scientific-sounding replacement for 'mesmerism', the term then in fashion, which he saw as tied too closely to the discredited theory of 'animal magnetism' promoted by Franz Mesmer.