besotted means infatuated. It carries an Arena rating of 1615, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, besotted ranks #400 of 17,122 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #2,040 of 17,113 for Most Elegant Words, #2,305 of 17,125 for Most Incisive Words, #2,506 of 17,123 for Most Malleable Words.
besotted is pronounced /bɪˈsɒtɪd/.
Why “besotted” is a great word
Blindly infatuated or intoxicated, to the point of impaired judgment. From the verb besot (to make foolish or muddle), itself from be- (thoroughly) + sot (a foolish person or drunkard), first recorded in the 1570s–1580s. Unlike "enamored," which suggests a delighted fondness, or "intoxicated," which denotes a primarily physical state, besotted describes a total, willing surrender of reason—a metaphorical stupor that can feel identical to a literal one. It is the suitor who cannot recall his own address after a single glance, the private, foolish smile that blooms on a face unaware of being watched, the reader who returns to the same devastating page until the candle gutters—love not as elevation but as diminishment, a sweet and absolute derangement of the senses.
adj
- Infatuated.
- Intellectually or morally blinded.
- Intoxicated, drunk.
Words closest in meaning
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