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Glite Dictionary
transfixion

transfixion

9.3
A complete stillness from shock, fear and amazement or the act of piercing something through
  • noun
  • /trænsˈfɪkʃən/
  • NSFW
translation icon : transfijación
  • He experienced a moment of transfixion when he stood before the towering mountains, overwhelmed by their beauty.

Examples

  • Another fixation method is by using transfixion pins, whereby a pin goes directly through soft tissue into the bone and comes out from the opposite side of both the bone and the tissue.

    Academic text (2006)

  • The audience was in a state of transfixion as they watched the breathtaking performance unfold.

  • Her transfixion with the artwork made her unable to look away from its intricate details.

Synonyms

transverberation
vstransfixion
  • Archaic
9.9

An action of putting a sharp object through something

is also used for being held motionless by awe or fear
state of petrification
vstransfixion
9.6

A feeling of being so shocked or frightened that you cannot move

is also used for a literal act of piercing through something

Antonyms

to release
∞ 1.8

To let someone or something go free from being held

disengagement
1 6.5

The act of stopping a connection or ending involvement with something

Surface Forms

transfixion singular
transfixions plural

Morphology

transfixion = transfix (transparent) = trans + fix + ion

The noun is a regular nominalization of the verb 'transfix' by adding '-ion', preserving the verb meanings (piercing or holding motionless).

Etymology

Transfixion comes from the Latin parts trans- 'across' and figere 'to fasten', the same root as English fix. It first meant 'to pierce through', and so it also came to mean being 'fixed' or unable to move because of fear or wonder.