taken with
16
7.1
- idiom
- Informal
:
encantado con
- I understand why people are so taken with this series.
- so taken with
I understand why people are so taken with this series.
- I understand why people are so taken with this series.
- And yet, when I read about the man this last week, I was so taken with what he was trying to give back.
Examples
-
And I have to admit, I'm not quite as taken with him as you are.
-
The woman is obviously taken with Charley.
-
And yet, when I read about the man this last week, I was so taken with what he was trying to give back.
-
Then again, lots of people are quite taken with you.
-
And he was quite taken with me.
-
For some reason, the king was very taken with this lady and began to spend all his time with her.
Fiction book (1996) -
But I was taken with Carolina.
-
She seems to be quite taken with him.
-
She's been quite taken with opera of late.
-
Many people are really taken with this new art exhibit and keep coming back to see it.
Synonyms
∞
1.9
Feeling strong romantic feelings for someone
35
8.0
Too kind to someone and not strict when they behave badly
20
5.8
Very strongly attracted to someone or something
11
6.1
Feeling a very strong but short attraction to someone, often without reason
5
6.8
Very much in love with a person, place, or thing
1
4.8
Feeling very much in love with someone and thinking about them a lot
Antonyms
How Attracted
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'experiencing a strong attraction' is only partially derivable: 'taken' can mean 'affected' or 'seized' and 'with' marks the relation, so a learner might infer being 'affected by' someone. However, the specific nuance of fondness/infatuation is idiomatic and depends on a less obvious sense of 'take', plus the provided sense of 'taken' (being made ill) would confuse learners, so the meaning is not fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Taken with may come from the old sense of taken meaning 'captured' or 'grabbed' and the word with showing what does the taking. Imagine an idea or person literally grabbing you so you feel held by them. That's why it now means being 'strongly attracted to' or 'very fond of' someone or something.