Skip to main content
hypnotic

hypnotic

14 6.1
Keeping your attention so you cannot look away
  • adjective
  • /hɪpˈnɑtɪk/
translation icon : hipnótico
  • The magician's performance was so hypnotic that the audience was completely entranced.
  • almost hypnotic

And as that becomes this hypnotic rhythm, as Napoleon Hill talks about it, I add another hip positive hypnotic rhythm, body, mind, heart, environment.

Examples

  • - The music was just hypnotic.

  • The flow of the sun-dappled water over submerged stones and branches was gently hypnotic.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Her eyes are hypnotic and they really calm me down.

  • And I, there was something so hypnotic about that just sort of straight shot.

  • And now, if you dare, look into the hypnotic eye.

  • The reason that it's so hypnotic is because we're just not made to interact with that much.

  • I took my eyes off Lana's hypnotic hair and looked up.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • He's lost some hair and some color over the years, but he still has the same hypnotic eyes.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • To the beat of drums, they perform rhythmic, hypnotic movements, repeating the same pattern over and over again.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Heat waves made the highway appear to ripple, and the undulating movement was hypnotic.

    Fiction book (2001)

Synonyms

fascinating
vshypnotic
577 2.0

Very interesting in a way that keeps your attention

adds an extra spell like quality rather than plain strong interest
enchanting
vshypnotic
22 3.7

Very attractive in a way that feels like magic

is closer to a stronger, spell like captivation than simple charm
riveting
vshypnotic
19 5.6

Makes you unable to stop paying attention

focuses more on a calm, spell like hold rather than excitement
magnetic
vshypnotic
16 4.4

Having a strong, attractive personality that makes people like them

refers more to an almost magical hold on attention rather than personal charm
captivating
vshypnotic
14 4.2

Holding people's attention because it is pleasant and interesting

leans more toward a spell like hold rather than general charm
mesmerizing
vshypnotic
  • US
12 5.5

A person or thing that holds your full attention as if by magic

emphasizes the same spell like hold often in a descriptive way
enthralling
vshypnotic
7 5.8

Very interesting in a way that keeps your attention

is similar but stresses a spell like, absorbing quality
spellbinding
vshypnotic
4 5.8

Makes you watch and listen because it feels like magic

describes that same total, spell like attraction in broad use
bewitching
vshypnotic
1 6.6

Very attractive in a way that seems to cast a spell

focuses on that spell like charm in general descriptions
entrancing
vshypnotic
1 5.8

So beautiful or interesting that it holds your full attention

highlights the same entranced effect but used more widely
mesmeric
vshypnotic
1 8.3

Attracts and keeps your attention as if by a spell

is the same idea but used more generally for that spell like effect
hypnotizing
vshypnotic
4.7

Holding your attention so you cannot stop looking or thinking

is more about a spell like, mesmerizing attraction than mere strength

Compounds

hypnotic trance
  • Specialized
1 8.6

A very relaxed state where someone accepts another person's suggestions easily

sedative-hypnotic
  • Specialized
7.7

A medicine that reduces anxiety and helps a person sleep

5.4

A medicine that calms the brain, reduces worry, and makes you sleep

How Captivating

mesmerizing
  • US
12 5.5
hypnotic
14 6.1
captivating
14 4.2
engaging
12 3.5
interesting
1.0

Surface Forms

hypnotic positive

Morphology

hypnotic = hypnosis (semi-transparent) = hypno + tic

The adjective is derived from 'hypnosis' but the sense 'fascinating/captivating' is a metaphorical extension rather than strictly 'producing hypnosis'.

Etymology

The word hypnotic comes from the Greek root hypno- meaning 'sleep', and is the same root we see in hypnosis. That's why something hypnotic feels so captivating or spell-like—it holds your attention as if your mind becomes quiet like sleep.