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Definition of "mesmerize" [mes•mer•ize]

  • To spellbind; enthrall: "He could mesmerize an audience by the sheer force of his presence” ( Justin Kaplan). (verb-transitive)
  • To hypnotize. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "mesmerize" in a sentence
  • "Or that the word mesmerize comes from the German hypnotist Franz Anton Mesmer?"
  • "All the employees, right down to the cook, have been taught to 'mesmerize' patients to the point where they are in a state of complete anesthesia."
  • "The latter ray also allows Ultron to mesmerize and outright mind-control his victims, or implant subliminal hypnotic commands within their minds to be enacted at a later time."