Enravish

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To fill someone with intense delight or rapture so that they are carried away with joy
2. To transport a person with overwhelming pleasure, enchanting them until they are lost in bliss
3. To enrapture or delight someone so deeply that their senses are completely captivated

Etymology: "Enravish" is formed from the prefix "en-" and "ravish." The prefix is the familiar one that turns a noun or adjective into a verb meaning "to put into a state" or "to cause to be," as in "enrich" or "enable." Attaching it to "ravish" gives a verb meaning to fill someone with rapture, so the word describes an emotional effect rather than the violence the base word can suggest. The base "ravish" itself carries a sharper history. It comes from the Old French "ravir," meaning to seize or carry off by force, which in turn came from Latin "rapere," to snatch. For centuries "ravish" kept that forceful sense of abduction, and the softer meaning of delighting someone grew out of it. "Enravish" follows that gentler path, using the prefix to intensify the idea of being carried away by feeling.

Synonyms: enchant, enrapture, delight

Antonyms: repel