Enthralledly

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a manner showing complete captivation or fascination, expressing intense interest or admiration with full attention and delight
2. Done with a sense of deep engagement and enchantment, reflecting an absorbing or spellbound state of mind filled with wonder
3. Performed with rapt attention and eagerness, indicating a state of being thoroughly mesmerized or irresistibly drawn to something or someone

Etymology: "Enthralledly" is "enthralled" plus the adverbial suffix "-ly". "Enthralled" is the past participle of "enthrall", which was formed in English by adding the prefix "en-" to "thrall", meaning a slave or bondservant. To enthrall someone was to reduce them to a kind of bondage, and the sense of being captivated by attention grew out of that image of servitude. The root "thrall" came into English from Old Norse "präll", and it shows how a word for an unfree laborer could end up describing a mind held by music or a story. The "-ly" ending simply turns the participle into an adverb, so "enthralledly" describes doing something in the manner of someone held spellbound.

Synonyms: captivatingly, fascinatingly, spellbound, mesmerizingly, absorbedly

Antonyms: indifferently, disinterestedly, boredly