mesmerism

IPA/ˈmez.mər.ɪ.zəm/
KK[mˈɛsmɚˌɪzəm]IPA/ˈmez.mər.ɪ.zəm/

mesmerism — noun

1. A method of healing developed in the 1700s by Austrian doctor Franz Mesmer, in w

1.nounC2
Definition

A method of healing developed in the 1700s by Austrian doctor Franz Mesmer, in which a person is guided into a sleeplike trance and becomes unusually open to suggestions from the practitioner.

Example

In eighteenth-century Vienna, audiences paid to watch demonstrations of mesmerism by traveling performers.

demonstration of + [practice] — historical usage context

Dr. Takeshi studied mesmerism as part of his research into the history of psychological treatments.

Common collocations
  • demonstrate mesmerism
  • study mesmerism
  • practice mesmerism
  • reject mesmerism
  • believe in mesmerism
  • a session of mesmerism
  • the history of mesmerism
Synonyms
  • hypnotism

    the modern equivalent; mesmerism is the original 18th-century precursor

  • hypnosis

    the trance state itself, rather than the specific historical practice

  • animal magnetism

    the original name Mesmer gave to his theory; now entirely historical

Grammar Patterns

uncountable noun

Usage Note

Mesmerism is a historical term tied specifically to Franz Mesmer's 18th-century theories. In modern contexts, hypnotism or hypnosis is used instead.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Mesmerism, hypnotism, and hypnosis all refer to guiding someone into a trance-like state, but they differ in historical context and scope. Mesmerism is the oldest term, tied specifically to Franz Mesmer's 18th-century theory of 'animal magnetism' — an invisible force he believed flowed between people. Hypnotism emerged in the 19th century as a more scientific label for the same general technique, stripped of Mesmer's mystical explanations. Hypnosis is the broadest term, referring both to the practice and the resulting mental state; it is the everyday word in modern medicine. Animal magnetism is now an entirely historical synonym for mesmerism. For example, a modern therapist practises hypnosis, not mesmerism, unless they are re-enacting an 18th-century demonstration.

hypnotism ↗hypnosis ↗animal magnetism

Common collocations

Nouns

  • demonstration of mesmerism
  • session of mesmerism
  • history of mesmerism
  • form of mesmerism

Phrases

  • a form of mesmerism

Prepositions

  • in mesmerism
  • with mesmerism

Etymology

GermanFrenchEnglish

Named after the Austrian doctor Franz Mesmer (1734–1815), who developed a theory of healing called 'animal magnetism'. The word entered English from French mesmérisme in the late 1700s.

First known use

1784

1784, in the meaning defined at sense 1