mes·mer·ism
(mĕz′mə-rĭz′əm, mĕs′-)n.
1. A strong or spellbinding appeal; fascination.
2. Hypnotic induction believed to involve animal magnetism.
3. Hypnotism.
[After Franz Mesmer.]
mes·mer′ic (-mĕr′ĭk) adj.
mes·mer′i·cal·ly adv.
mes′mer·ist n.
Word History: Franz Anton Mesmer, a visionary 18th-century physician, believed cures could be effected by having patients do things such as sit with their feet in a fountain of magnetized water while holding cables attached to magnetized trees. Mesmer then came to believe that magnetic powers resided in himself, and during highly fashionable curative sessions in Paris he caused his patients to have reactions ranging from sleeping or dancing to convulsions. These reactions were actually brought about by hypnotic powers that Mesmer was unaware he possessed. Eventually, Mesmer's practices came to be called mesmerism (a term first recorded in English in 1784). The related word mesmerize (first recorded in English in 1829), having shed its reference to the hypnotic doctor, lives on in the sense "to enthrall."
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
mesmeric
(mɛzˈmɛrɪk)adj
1. holding (someone) as if spellbound
2. (Psychology) of or relating to mesmerism
mesˈmerically adv
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Adj. | 1. |  mesmeric - attracting and holding interest as if by a spell; "read the bedtime story in a hypnotic voice"; "she had a warm mesmeric charm"; "the sheer force of his presence was mesmerizing"; "a spellbinding description of life in ancient Rome"attractive - pleasing to the eye or mind especially through beauty or charm; "a remarkably attractive young man"; "an attractive personality"; "attractive clothes"; "a book with attractive illustrations" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
mesmeric
adj → hypnotisch; movement → hypnotisierend
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007