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

Backdropped by New York’s ’80s AIDS crisis, the film sees Ford’s character develop a painstaking infatuation with Jimmy, despite the latter’s declining health. —Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 14 May 2026

Admittedly, Hollywood’s infatuation with the festival has ebbed and flowed over the years, but 2026 seems like a rare outlier. —Gregory Ellwood, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2026

But as Mackintosh persuasively illustrates, the familiar emotions of jealousy, infatuation and eventually indifference — these persist and can flourish in any relationship, however free of prohibition. —Literary Hub, 23 Apr. 2026

That success — as well as surviving his own murder attempt — has sparked a nationwide infatuation of Harfuch, which includes merchandise and popular ballads praising him. —Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 13 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1648, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing infatuation

• self-infatuation

Rhymes for infatuation

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation