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fascinate

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fas⋅ci⋅nate

  [fas-uh-neyt] verb, -nat⋅ed, -nat⋅ing.
–verb (used with object)
1. to attract and hold attentively by a unique power, personal charm, unusual nature, or some other special quality; enthrall: a vivacity that fascinated the audience.
2. to arouse the interest or curiosity of; allure.
3. to transfix or deprive of the power of resistance, as through terror: The sight of the snake fascinated the rabbit.
4. Obsolete. to bewitch.
5. Obsolete. to cast under a spell by a look.
–verb (used without object)
6. to capture the interest or hold the attention.
Use fascinate in a Sentence
Origin:
1590–1600; < L fascinātus, ptp. of fascināre to bewitch, cast a spell on, v. deriv. of fascinum evil spell, bewitchment

Related forms:
fas⋅ci⋅nat⋅ed⋅ly, adverb
fas⋅ci⋅na⋅tive, adjective

Synonyms:
1. bewitch, enchant, spellbind, charm.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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fas·ci·nate   (fās'ə-nāt')   
v.   fas·ci·nat·ed, fas·ci·nat·ing, fas·ci·nates

v.   tr.

  1. To hold an intense interest or attraction for. See Synonyms at charm.

  2. To hold motionless; spellbind.

  3. Obsolete To bewitch.

v.   intr.
To be irresistibly charming or attractive.

[Latin fascināre, fascināt-, to cast a spell on, from fascinum, an evil spell, a phallic-shaped amulet.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

fascinate 
1598, "bewitch, enchant," from M.Fr. fasciner, from L. fascinatus, pp. of fascinare "bewitch, enchant," from fascinus "spell, witchcraft," of uncertain origin. Possibly from Gk. baskanos "bewitcher, sorcerer," with form influenced by L. fari "speak" (see fame). The Gk. word may be from a Thracian equivalent of Gk. phaskein "to say;" cf. also enchant, and Ger. besprechen "to charm," from sprechen "to speak." Earliest used of witches and of serpents, who were said to be able to cast a spell by a look that rendered one unable to move or resist. Sense of "delight, attract" is first recorded 1815.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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