animal magnetism

noun

Definition of animal magnetism

1 : a mysterious force claimed by Mesmer to enable him to hypnotize patients

2 : a magnetic charm or appeal especially : sex appeal

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Examples of animal magnetism in a Sentence

a photograph that captures the athlete's animal magnetism

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Penelope Cruz makes a sensational film debut, and Javier Bardem bursts with animal magnetism. — Chris Ball, cleveland.com, "'Professor Marston and the Wonder Women,' now on DVD and Blu-ray (review)," 4 Feb. 2018 Franklin used an early version of the placebo trial to prove that animal magnetism wasn’t a real biological force. — Gregory Reid, Smithsonian, "Why I Take Fake Pills," 29 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'animal magnetism.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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The first known use of animal magnetism was in 1781

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animal magnetism

noun

Medical Definition of animal magnetism

: a spiritlike force alleged by the Austrian physician Franz Anton Mesmer (1734–1815) to reside within himself and to be active in his use of therapeutic hypnosis — see mesmerism