Transfix

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To pierce through something with a sharp object such as a stake or weapon ; to hold someone's attention completely as if paralyzed by fascination
2. To impale or stab something, often causing it to be fixed in place ; to captivate or enthrall someone so they cannot look away
3. To penetrate or skewer an object often by thrusting a pointed instrument ; to mesmerize or rivet someone’s gaze or focus with intense interest

Etymology: The verb "transfix" is a close relative of "fix", and both come from the same Latin root. Its ancestor, Latin "transfigere", meant "to pierce through", built from "trans-" ("through") and "figere" ("to fasten or pierce"). That root also gave English "fix" and "fixed", so the modern sense of holding something still was once the older sense of driving a point into it. The word passed into English through Middle French "transfixer" and Old French "transfixer", which kept the original sense of piercing. English speakers first used it in that literal, physical way, for a spear or blade run through a body. The meaning then widened, and to be "transfixed" by a sight came to describe a person held motionless, as if pinned in place by an unseen point.

Synonyms: pierce, stab, immobilize, captivate, enthrall

Antonyms: release, free, disengage, liberate, unfasten