transfix

verb trans·fix \ tran(t)s-ˈfiks \

|Updated on: 18 Jun 2018

Examples: transfix in a Sentence

Definition of transfix

transfixed; transfixing; transfixes

transitive verb

1 : to hold motionless by or as if by piercing

he stood transfixed by her gaze

2 : to pierce through with or as if with a pointed weapon : impale

—

transfixion

play \tran(t)s-ˈfik-shən\ noun

See transfix defined for English-language learners

See transfix defined for kids

Examples of transfix in a Sentence

transfixed the inanimate butterfly specimens to the collection board

Recent Examples of transfix from the Web

Over the weekend, the world was transfixed by footage of a Malian migrant in Paris rescuing a toddler hanging from a balcony.

— ishaan tharoor, Washington Post, "For migrants, it takes extraordinary acts to earn normal lives," 31 May 2018
Visitors were transfixed by the idea of sidestepping crippling real estate and rents in Los Angeles and elsewhere in California, others dreamed of opting for a simpler life, or satisfying their wanderlust.

— lisa boone, ajc, "People ditching pricey homes for small houses on wheels … and loving it," 29 May 2018
And anyway, the drama is in the transfixing way this story is told, as savagery and civilization perform a ruthless tug of war.

— matthew gilbert, BostonGlobe.com, "Amazon’s ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’ is a transfixing tale," 23 May 2018
And we, the audience, are oddly transfixed by the spectacle.

— andrew sullivan, Daily Intelligencer, "Obama’s Legacy Has Already Been Destroyed," 18 May 2018
Designed to destroy itself automatically, the work exploded in front of 250 spectators in the Nevada Desert: a flaming and transfixing mess of intentionally faulty mechanics.

— The Economist, "The many ways art goes missing," 10 May 2018
For weeks last summer, the region was transfixed by the disappearances and, as was later discovered, murders of four young Bucks County men.

— aubrey nagle, Philly.com, "Guilty plea in grisly Bucks murders, botched repairs endanger Philly schools | Morning Newsletter," 17 May 2018
Ohio has been transfixed for years by the case against Tara Lambert, a former model accused of hiring an undercover sheriff’s deputy to kill the mother of her stepchildren.

— niraj chokshi, New York Times, "White Man Is Accused of Seeking a Hit Man to Lynch His Black Neighbor: ‘$500 and He’s a Ghost’," 10 May 2018
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah has transfixed European powerhouses with his scintillating displays this season with Real Madrid said to be mulling over an approach, a move the mayor of his Egyptian hometown, Nagrig, has revealed is not off the table.

— SI.com, "Mayor of Salah's Hometown Reveals Winger Will Switch Liverpool for Real Madrid 'If God Wants It'," 26 Apr. 2018

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