hypnotism

noun

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hyp·no·tism | \ ˈhip-nə-ˌti-zəm

Definition of hypnotism

1 : the study or act of inducing hypnosis — compare mesmerism

2 : hypnosis sense 1

Other Words from hypnotism Synonyms Example Sentences Learn More about hypnotism

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Synonyms for hypnotism

Synonyms

hypnosis,
mesmerism

Examples of hypnotism in a Sentence

a psychologist who employs hypnotism to treat his patients some people have undergone hypnotism in order to induce them to give up their smoking habit

Recent Examples on the Web Not unlike today, people turned to quack cures for relief, including water therapy and mesmerism, which involved hypnotism and the use of magnets. — Ann Levin, USA TODAY, "'The Doctors Blackwell' review: Two remarkable sisters transformed American medicine," 18 Jan. 2021 Tommy Vee bring his hypnotism show to the Big E for just six days. — Susan Dunne, courant.com, "What’s happening at this year’s Big E? These 10 things might just surprise you," 3 Sep. 2019 The combination of soft lighting, soothing music, and Mesmer’s enthralling movements around the room produced what is now recognized as a form of hypnotism. — National Geographic, "Was this hypnotic health craze an elaborate hoax or a medical breakthrough?," 5 Mar. 2019 The hypnotism was like a one-act play within the show itself, said Gadon. — Sonia Saraiya, HWD, "A Look Beneath the Veil of Alias Grace’s Showstopping Hypnotism," 25 June 2018 Harron and Polley also built tension by contrasting the hypnotism against flashbacks and reveries that were filmed and lit in a completely different way. — Sonia Saraiya, HWD, "A Look Beneath the Veil of Alias Grace’s Showstopping Hypnotism," 25 June 2018 The lecture mixed neurological theory and armchair anthropology, and ranged over subjects including premonitions, telepathy, hypnotism, hallucinations, and epileptic and migrainous aura. — Katherine Foxhall, Smithsonian, "No, Getting a Hole Drilled in Your Head Was Never a Migraine Cure," 6 Mar. 2018 His nightstand in the weeks following his assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968 could have theoretically included the novel Mission in Tangier, the self-help book Psycho-Cibernetics, or a manual on hypnotism. — Bécquer Seguín, Slate Magazine, "Exotic Minutiae," 21 July 2017 The files revealed the experiments tested drugs (like LSD), sensory deprivation, hypnotism and electroshock on everyone from agency operatives to prostitutes, recovering drug addicts and prisoners—often without their consent. — Lorraine Boissoneault, Smithsonian, "The True Story of Brainwashing and How It Shaped America," 22 May 2017

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