Bewitches

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To enchant or charm someone so deeply that they become completely fascinated and absorbed in the experience
2. To cast a magical spell over someone to influence their actions or feelings ; to captivate or fascinate someone so they are fully engrossed
3. To use supernatural powers to charm or control a person ; to attract and hold someone's interest intensely

Etymology: "Bewitches" is the third-person singular form of "bewitch," so the real story is the verb itself. It comes from Middle English "bewicchen," built from the prefix "be-" plus "witch." The prefix is the old intensifying or transitive "be-" that English used to turn nouns and adjectives into verbs meaning "to affect thoroughly," as in "becloud" or "bedeck." So to bewitch was, at root, to put a witch's influence over someone, to work witchcraft upon them. The noun "witch" itself is much older in English, coming from Old English "wicce" for a female practitioner of magic, and the verb grew out of that noun once the Middle English period made new verbs easy to form. Over the centuries, the literal sense of casting a magical spell faded, and "bewitch" drifted toward the figurative meaning of captivating or charming someone so completely that they seem under a spell.

Synonyms: enchants, charmes, captivates

Antonyms: repels, disenchants