Word of the Day

: January 5, 2007

mesmerize

verb MEZ-muh-ryze

What It Means

1 : hypnotize

2 : spellbind, fascinate

mesmerize in Context

The audience was mesmerized by the performance of the circus acrobats on the trapeze.

Did You Know?

Experts can't agree on whether Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815) was a quack or a genius, but all concede that the late 18th-century physician's name is the source of the word "mesmerize." In his day, Mesmer was the toast of Paris, where he enjoyed the support of notables including Queen Marie Antoinette. He treated patients with a force he termed "animal magnetism." Many believe that what he actually used was what we now call "hypnotism." Mesmer's name was first applied to a technique for inducing hypnosis by one of his students in 1784.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.