Enravishing

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Definitions

1. Filling someone with intense delight and joy so that they are completely captivated by it
2. Enchanting and enthralling to the point of overwhelming the senses with pleasure
3. Deeply charming and enrapturing, leaving the observer wholly absorbed in admiration

Etymology: "Enravishing" is the present participle of "enravish," which is built from the prefix "en-" and the verb "ravish." The prefix means "into" or "to make," so the verb means to put someone into a state of ravishment, and "ravish" itself has a longer story. It came into English from Old French "ravir," meaning to seize or carry off by force, and that sense of violent seizure is still visible in its older meanings, which included abduction and rape. The sense of being carried away with delight developed later, so that to be ravished once meant to be seized, and then to be seized by rapture. The "en-" prefix is the more familiar part of the pattern, since English has many verbs like "enrich" and "enclose" that add it to a base word. "Enravish" follows that pattern and kept the sense of being overcome, here by beauty or wonder rather than by force.

Synonyms: enchanting, ravishing, entrancing, captivating, bewitching

Antonyms: repellent, repulsive, off-putting, disgusting, unattractive