hypnotize

verb

hyp·​no·​tize ˈhip-nə-ˌtīz How to pronounce hypnotize (audio)
hypnotized; hypnotizing

transitive verb

1
: to induce hypnosis in
2
: to dazzle or overcome by or as if by suggestion
a voice that hypnotizes its hearers
drivers hypnotized by speed
hypnotizability noun
hypnotizable adjective

Examples of hypnotize in a Sentence

The therapist hypnotized him and asked him questions about his traumatic experiences in the war. He can hypnotize people with his stare.
Recent Examples on the Web The song, which runs through disparate vibes and emotions, with pensive chants and chilling howls, has the ability to hypnotize listeners instantly, in an almost shamanic way. Isabela Raygoza, Billboard, 25 July 2023 In this controversial romantic comedy, Jack Black plays an arrogant bachelor who gets hypnotized into only seeing people’s inner beauty. Hanna Lustig, Glamour, 25 Aug. 2023 While Paltrow donned a bodysuit and prosthetics to portray lead character Rosemary — an overweight woman who captures the attentions of a man who's been hypnotized into seeing only a person's inner beauty — Snitzer, now 42, filmed full and close-up body shots in Paltrow's stead. Erin Clack, Peoplemag, 23 Aug. 2023 Now the audience are being collectively hypnotized like high school students. John Bleasdale, Variety, 7 Aug. 2023 All some people want during the dog days of summer is to sit agog before a mile-high screen, hypnotized by pyrotechnic special effects, puerile jokes, and perhaps the warm comfort of an aging movie star. Lisa Wong MacAbasco, Vogue, 14 July 2023 These are all just a bunch of funny jokes about people who are too online, celebrities whose shallow fame exists only by way of the apps, and a contemporary American culture hypnotized by the blue light of screens. Phillip MacIak, The New Republic, 9 June 2023 The story was about the hypnotizing effect of the auctioneer and that every auction night nearly every seat of the 500 in the building was taken. Sam Boyer, cleveland, 11 Aug. 2023 The movement, brutal in terms of endurance by the dancers, yet lots of fun to watch, built to a hypnotizing finale that placed the entire company across the front of the stage to suggest that the performers would drop into the laps of the audience. Iris Fanger, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hypnotize.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1843, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of hypnotize was in 1843

Dictionary Entries Near hypnotize

Cite this Entry

“Hypnotize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hypnotize. Accessed 26 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

hypnotize

verb
hyp·​no·​tize ˈhip-nə-ˌtīz How to pronounce hypnotize (audio)
hypnotized; hypnotizing
1
: to cause hypnosis in
2
: to deaden judgment or resistance by or as if by hypnotic suggestion
hypnotizable adjective

Medical Definition

hypnotize

transitive verb
hyp·​no·​tize
variants also British hypnotise
hypnotized also British hypnotised; hypnotizing also British hypnotising
1
: to induce hypnosis in
2
: to influence by or as if by suggestion
a voice that hypnotizes its hearers
hypnotizability noun
also British hypnotisability
plural hypnotizabilities
hypnotizable adjective
also British hypnotisable

More from Merriam-Webster on hypnotize

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