infatuation

noun

in·​fat·​u·​a·​tion in-ˌfa-chə-ˈwā-shən 

-chü-ˈā-

plural infatuations

1

: a feeling of foolish or obsessively strong love for, admiration for, or interest in someone or something : strong and unreasoning attachment

She speaks openly about the real-life subject of one of her songs, a conservatory teacher who is both a neighbor in her apartment building and the unwilling object of her obsessive infatuation.

—Sasha Frere-Jones

Craig Claiborne wrote about it in 1963, when he was deep in his infatuation with dill and meatballs and all things Nordic.

—Amanda Hesser

2

: the object of an unreasoning or foolish attachment

And then, I began trying to forge their autographs. I'm not sure why I did it at first, but it became an infatuation.

—Zach Selwyn

Synonyms of infatuation

• crush

Examples of infatuation in a Sentence

had a brief infatuation with the captain of the ski team

Recent Examples on the Web

A lot was made about Daboll’s infatuation with Jaxson Dart leading up to, during and certainly after last year’s NFL Draft. —Zack Rosenblatt, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2026

Besides, Wall Street’s infatuation with AI was likely too hard to resist. —Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 29 Jan. 2026

But detectives would learn the harassment continued – and the vet's infatuation with Tanya deepened. —Natalie Morales, CBS News, 27 Jan. 2026

Chief on the film’s mind is what happens when the relative innocence of that blush of first infatuation — neither boy seems particularly troubled by his proclivity — is spoiled by outside forces, like family and the church. —Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 24 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1648, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing infatuation

• self-infatuation

Rhymes for infatuation

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration