Skip to main content
mesmerizing

mesmerizing

12 5.5
A person or thing that holds your full attention as if by magic
  • adjective
  • /ˈmɛzməˌraɪzɪŋ/
  • US
translation icon : hipnotizante
  • The magician's performance was so mesmerizing that the audience sat in silence, captivated by his every move.
  • mesmerizing eyes
  • mesmerizing voice
  • mesmerizing rhythm

And black holes are obviously this mesmerizing aspect of astrophysics.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • It's incredibly mesmerizing and relaxing and even a bit Zen.

  • Drenched in color, the images provide readers with a mesmerizing view of the landscape and its inhabitants.

    Academic text (2010)
  • It's the most mesmerizing place in the world.

  • And perhaps the most mesmerizing of all systems is the binary star phenomenon.

  • The tiny dioramas she gave me were also mesmerizing.

    Academic text (1998)
  • Catherine Young straddles the beautiful black animal, her mesmerizing eyes scanning the horizon.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • In fact, Braga gives a performance of great range and subtlety that is little short of mesmerizing.

    Academic text (1992)
  • It was quaint, in a great location, had an Infinity pool and just mesmerizing views.

  • They're beautiful, majestic, mysterious, mesmerizing creatures.

  • A single petal fell off and twirled to the floor in a slow, floating, mesmerizing spiral.

    Fiction book (1993)

Synonyms

enchanting
vsmesmerizing
22 3.7

Very attractive in a way that feels like magic

is stronger, focusing on total attention like an actual spell
hypnotic
vsmesmerizing
14 6.1

Keeping your attention so you cannot look away

is about magical charm rather than induced trance
captivating
vsmesmerizing
14 4.2

Holding people's attention because it is pleasant and interesting

is specifically about enchanting and almost magical total hold
enthralling
vsmesmerizing
7 5.8

Very interesting in a way that keeps your attention

is similar but adds a sense of magic
spellbinding
vsmesmerizing
4 5.8

Makes you watch and listen because it feels like magic

is the general idea of enchantment rather than theatrical magic
entrancing
vsmesmerizing
1 5.8

So beautiful or interesting that it holds your full attention

is about holding attention by wonder rather than mere beauty
bewitching
vsmesmerizing
1 6.6

Very attractive in a way that seems to cast a spell

is about holding full attention rather than just being attractive
mesmeric
vsmesmerizing
1 8.3

Attracts and keeps your attention as if by a spell

is about charm by magic rather than clinical trance
hypnotizing
vsmesmerizing
4.7

Holding your attention so you cannot stop looking or thinking

is focused on magical attraction rather than hypnotic power

Antonyms

182 1.3

Not interesting or lively

20 1.4

Not exciting and likely to make people bored

How Captivating

mesmerizing
  • US
12 5.5
spellbinding
4 5.8
enthralling
7 5.8
captivating
14 4.2
engaging
12 3.5
interesting
1.0

Surface Forms

mesmerizing positive
mesmerized comparative
mesmerizingest superlative

Morphology

mesmerizing = mesmerize (transparent) = mesmerize + ing

The adjective is directly formed from the verb 'mesmerize' by adding '-ing', preserving the sense 'captivating' or 'holding attention'.

Etymology

The word mesmerizing comes from the name Mesmer, a doctor who believed he could use a kind of 'magnet' to put people into a 'trance'. So something mesmerizing holds your attention as if by magic.