mesmerise
mesmerise — verb
1. to fascinate someone so deeply that they keep watching or listening and forget a
to fascinate someone so deeply that they keep watching or listening and forget about everything happening around them.
Beatrix sat on the harbour wall, mesmerised by the seals diving for fish.
passive: be mesmerised by + [scene/activity]
The street magician mesmerised the lunchtime crowd outside the train station for over an hour.
active: [performer] mesmerises [audience]
Tamar's piano playing mesmerised everyone in the hotel lobby, even the busy front-desk staff.
Children sat cross-legged on the rug, completely mesmerised as Femi told the old village story.
The slow turning of the lighthouse beam mesmerised Joao during his night walk along the cliff path.
- bore
Opposite reaction — attention drifts away rather than locking on.
文法句型
mesmerise + [person/audience]
be mesmerised by + [thing/event]
用法筆記
Frequently used in the passive (`be mesmerised by`) when describing the viewer's experience; the active form is more common when naming the performer or stimulus as subject. Subjects of the active form are usually performers, visual displays, or rhythmic motion.
常見錯誤
2. to put a person into a sleep-like state where they will follow instructions; an
to put a person into a sleep-like state where they will follow instructions; an older word for `hypnotise`, mostly seen in nineteenth-century stories.
In the Victorian novel, Dr. Christopher claims he can mesmerise patients to ease their toothache without ether.
literary / historical register
The travelling showman boasted that he could mesmerise any volunteer who stepped up onto his small wooden stage.
Old medical journals describe how physicians once tried to mesmerise nervous patients before performing minor surgery.
Noor read a ghost story in which a strange visitor tried to mesmerise the young heir into signing the will.
- wake
To bring someone out of a trance or sleep-like state.
文法句型
mesmerise + [person]
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: this sense names a deliberate technique aimed at producing a trance, not a strong reaction to something fascinating. In modern writing, `hypnotise` has replaced it almost everywhere; reserve this sense for period pieces and historical discussion.