Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To cast a spell over; bewitch.
  • transitive verb To attract and delight; entrance. synonym: charm.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To practise sorcery or witchcraft on; subdue by charms or spells; hold as by a spell; bewitch.
  • To impart a magical quality or effect to; change the nature of by incantation or sorcery; bewitch, as a thing.
  • To delight in a high degree; charm; fascinate.
  • Synonyms Enchant, Charm, Fascinate, captivate, enrapture, carry away. To fascinate is to bring under a spell, as by the power of the eye; to enchant and to charm are to bring under a spell by some more subtle and mysterious power. This difference in the literal affects also the figurative senses. Enchant is stronger than charm. All generally imply a pleased state in that which is affected, but fascinate less often than the others.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To charm by sorcery; to act on by enchantment; to get control of by magical words and rites.
  • transitive verb To delight in a high degree; to charm; to enrapture.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To attract and delight, to charm.
  • verb archaic To cast a spell over.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb attract; cause to be enamored
  • verb hold spellbound
  • verb cast a spell over someone or something; put a hex on someone or something

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English enchanten, from Old French enchanter, from Latin incantāre, to utter an incantation, cast a spell : in-, against; see en– + cantāre, to sing, frequentative of canere; see kan- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French enchanter, from Latin incantāre, present active infinitive of incantō.

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Examples

  • Her forehead eclipses the rose and the apple, and her look and expression enchant the people;

    Arabian nights. English Anonymous 1855

  • She wore a ring engraved with the words 'Sa douçeur m'enchant' (Your sweetness enchants me).

    Frances Burney (1752-1840) 2008

  • To find how sweet it is to die. — and other verses and burdens of the same sort, such as enchant when sung and fascinate when written.

    Don Quixote 2002

  • On the airship I watched him 'enchant' a slug gun by slipping his finger behind the trigger, then snatch it from the trooper as she struggled to fire it.

    Exodus From The Long Sun Wolfe, Gene 1996

  • I’ve pretty much lost track of the number of times I’ve seen something like: “WTB lowest priced fiery red sword enchant” in the trade channel.

    January 2006 2006

  • I’ve pretty much lost track of the number of times I’ve seen something like: “WTB lowest priced fiery red sword enchant” in the trade channel.

    Invidious Comparison 2006

  • -- and other verses and burdens of the same sort, such as enchant when sung and fascinate when written.

    The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, Complete Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 1581

  • -- and other verses and burdens of the same sort, such as enchant when sung and fascinate when written.

    The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, Part 30 Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 1581

  • -- and other verses and burdens of the same sort, such as enchant when sung and fascinate when written.

    Don Quixote Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 1581

  • Either Stephenson's heavyweight tome will pull in the votes with its massive gravitational field; or the Gaiman Effect will enchant all those in the vicinity and The Graveyard Book will take the award.

    MIND MELD: The Hugo Awards - Success at Picking the Best, How Well it Represents the Genre, 2009 Predictions & Overlooked Titles 2009

Comments

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  • in song

    January 9, 2009

  • album even

    August 17, 2009

  • "Engine off the track". --US Railway Association, Standard Cipher Code, 1906.

    January 22, 2013