Gorgonizes

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To have an overwhelming or paralyzing effect on someone, as if by a powerful gaze
2. to render someone speechless or immobilized due to shock or fear
3. to instill a sense of awe or dread that leaves one unable to respond or move

Etymology: "Gorgonizes" is the third-person singular form of "gorgonize", a verb built from the noun "gorgon" and the suffix "-ize". The noun comes from the Gorgons of Greek myth, the snake-haired sisters whose stare turned onlookers to stone, so to gorgonize someone is to fix them in place with a look. The suffix traces back through Middle French and Late Latin to the Ancient Greek "-izein", which was used to form verbs from nouns and adjectives, so the English verb simply adds the "-ize" ending to the monstrous name. The sense is therefore literal before it is figurative: the Gorgon's gaze was a physical paralysis, and the modern meaning keeps that idea while applying it to an overpowering personal effect rather than actual stone.