ensorcell means to bewitch or enchant. It carries an Arena rating of 1908, earned across 72 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, ensorcell ranks #371 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #392 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #506 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words, #1,277 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words.
ensorcell is pronounced /ɛnˈsɔːs(ə)l/.
Why “ensorcell” is a great word
ENSORCELL — [Verb] To cast a spell upon, binding someone in a state of bewitchment. From Middle French ensorceler, a dissimilation of Old French ensorcerer, from the prefix en- (caused) + sorcier ("sorcerer"), ultimately from Latin sors ("fate, lot; oracular response"), from Proto-Indo-European *ser- ("to bind"). First attested in English in the 1540s. Unlike "enchant," which suggests a general, often delightful charm, or "fascinate," which implies a powerful but secular attraction, to ensorcell is to be bound by a literal, archaic sorcery. It is the glint in a charlatan’s eye that freezes your doubt, the whispered hex that tightens around the heart, the specific weight of a gaze that feels like a knot being tied around your will—a quiet captivity not of the heart, but of the very fate once drawn by lot.
Etymology
From Old French ensorceler (“to cast a spell, enchant; to captivate”), a variant of ensorcerer, from en- (prefix meaning ‘caused’) + sorcier (“sorcerer”) (ultimately from Latin sors (“fate, lot; oracular response”), from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to bind”)).
verb
- To bewitch or enchant.
- To captivate, entrance, or fascinate.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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