bewitch means to cast a spell upon.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, bewitch ranks #2,328 of 14,438 for Most Storied Words, #2,374 of 14,451 for Most Whimsical Words, #3,360 of 14,297 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #4,239 of 14,322 for Scariest Words.
bewitch is pronounced /bəˈwɪt͡ʃ/.
Why “bewitch” is a great word
To cast a spell upon, or to fascinate or charm as if by magic. From Middle English *bewicchen*, the intensive prefix *be-* married to *witch*, meaning 'to practice witchcraft'. Unlike "captivate," which suggests holding attention by inherent appeal alone, or "enchant," which implies a lighter, more delightful charm, to bewitch carries the weight of genuine sorcery—something older and more dangerous. It is the fixed stare that paralyzes, the voice that follows you home unbidden, the photograph whose subject seems to watch you from across the room. To be bewitched is to lose the boundary between will and compulsion, grateful for the very chains one cannot see.
Etymology
From Middle English bewicchen, bewycchen, biwicchen, equivalent to be- + witch.
verb
- To cast a spell upon.“And further, this examinate saith, that she sent both her spirits to Stonesby, to one Willison, a husbandman, and Robert Williman, a husbandman's son, and bade the kitten go to Willison and bewitch him to death, and the moldiwarp to the other and bewitch him to death, which they did, and within ten days they died.”
- To fascinate or charm.“I was bewitched by the sight of the girl dancing in the forest.”
- To astonish, amaze.“Is it not a fact that the miners of this country are bewildered and bewitched and do not know what is to happen?”
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