mesmerise
mesmerise — 動詞
1. to fascinate someone so deeply that they keep watching or listening and forget a
迷住；吸引
讓人全神貫注、移不開目光
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.
Beatrix 坐在港邊的牆上，看著海豹潛入水裡抓魚，整個人都被迷住了。
passive: be mesmerised by + [scene/activity]
The street magician mesmerised the lunchtime crowd outside the train station for over an hour.
那位街頭魔術師把火車站外的午餐人潮迷住了一個多小時。
active: [performer] mesmerises [audience]
Tamar's piano playing mesmerised everyone in the hotel lobby, even the busy front-desk staff.
Tamar 的鋼琴演奏迷住了飯店大廳裡的每個人，連忙碌的櫃台人員也停下手邊的事。
Children sat cross-legged on the rug, completely mesmerised as Femi told the old village story.
孩子們盤腿坐在地毯上，當 Femi 講起那個古老的村裡故事時，他們完全被吸引住了。
The slow turning of the lighthouse beam mesmerised Joao during his night walk along the cliff path.
燈塔光束緩慢旋轉，Joao 夜裡沿著懸崖小徑散步時被它深深迷住。
- 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
施催眠術
舊式說法，使人進入催眠狀態
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.
在那本維多利亞時代的小說裡，Dr. Christopher 聲稱他能對病人施催眠術，不用乙醚就能緩解牙痛。
literary / historical register
The travelling showman boasted that he could mesmerise any volunteer who stepped up onto his small wooden stage.
那位巡迴表演者誇口說，任何走上他那座小木台的志願者，他都能施以催眠。
Old medical journals describe how physicians once tried to mesmerise nervous patients before performing minor surgery.
舊時的醫學期刊記載，醫師在進行小手術前，曾經嘗試對緊張的病人施催眠術。
Noor read a ghost story in which a strange visitor tried to mesmerise the young heir into signing the will.
Noor 讀了一個鬼故事，裡面有個陌生訪客想對年輕繼承人施催眠術，要他簽下遺囑。
- 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.