mesmerizing

IPA/ˈmezməraɪzɪŋ/
KK[mˈɛzmɚˌaɪzɪŋ]IPA/ˈmezməraɪzɪŋ/

mesmerizing — adjective

  • mesmerizingpositive
  • more mesmerizingcomparative
  • most mesmerizingsuperlative

1. so beautiful or skilful that it holds your attention completely, as if you are u

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

so beautiful or skilful that it holds your attention completely, as if you are under a spell

Example

Fatima could not take her eyes off the mesmerizing flames in the fireplace.

The street performer's mesmerizing tricks drew a large crowd in the square.

collocation: mesmerizing + performance noun (tricks)

Common collocations
  • mesmerizing beauty
  • mesmerizing gaze
  • mesmerizing voice
  • mesmerizing performance
Synonyms
  • captivating

    less intense; suggests charm rather than a trance-like pull

  • enchanting

    implies a magical, fairy-tale quality

  • spellbinding

    emphasizes the power to make you unable to look away or move

  • hypnotic

    closest in meaning; often describes rhythmic, repetitive things

Antonyms
  • boring

    fails to hold your attention at all

  • repulsive

    actively pushes your attention away

Grammar Patterns

find + something + mesmerizing

there is something mesmerizing about + noun/gerund

Usage Note

Often describes visual experiences (sights, performances, views) but also applies to sounds, voices, and stories. Stronger than 'beautiful' or 'interesting' — it suggests an almost hypnotic pull that makes everything else fade away.

Common Mistakes

The exam results were mesmerizing.
The exam results were amazing.
'Mesmerizing' describes something that holds your attention spellbound through beauty or skill, not something that simply surprises or impresses you.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

These five words all describe something that holds your attention so strongly you cannot look away. Captivating is the most versatile — a captivating smile, story, or performance — and suggests charm rather than a trance-like pull. Enchanting carries a fairy-tale quality; an enchanting garden or melody feels magical and delightful. Spellbinding emphasizes the power to make you unable to move or look away, as if a spell has been cast; a spellbinding speech holds a room frozen. Hypnotic is the closest to mesmerizing in origin, but tends to describe rhythmic, repetitive things like a hypnotic beat or sway. Mesmerizing sits in the middle: stronger than captivating, less whimsical than enchanting, and less clinical than hypnotic. A mesmerizing sunset, dancer, or voice — each suggests beauty or skill so powerful the world around you seems to fall away.

captivating ↗enchanting ↗spellbinding ↗hypnotic ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • mesmerizing effect
  • mesmerizing sight
  • mesmerizing quality

Adverbs

  • utterly mesmerizing
  • absolutely mesmerizing
  • completely mesmerizing

Phrases

  • find something mesmerizing
  • there is something mesmerizing about

Prepositions

  • mesmerizing to watch
  • mesmerizing to behold

Etymology

German (proper name)FrenchEnglish

From the name of Franz Mesmer (1734–1815), an Austrian doctor who treated patients using 'animal magnetism,' a practice that put people into a trance-like state. Although his methods were later discredited, the idea of being held spellbound by someone's influence gave rise to the verb 'mesmerize' and later the adjective 'mesmerizing.'

First known use

1829

1829, in the meaning defined at sense 1