spellbind

Etymology

From spell + bind.

spellbind means to place under the influence of a magical spell; to enchant or bewitch with a spell. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 74 out of 100.

Why this word is great

SPELLBIND — [Verb] To captivate or hold the attention of someone as if by a magic spell; to entrance. From the English words spell ("a spoken word or formula held to have magic power") + bind ("to tie or fasten"). Unlike "mesmerize," which suggests a clinical, mechanistic domination, or "beguile," which charms with a whisper of deceit, to spellbind is to be captured by a guileless, willing enchantment. It is the firelight carving rapt faces from the dark, the shared, breathless stillness of a room held by a storyteller's cadence, or the single line of poetry that halts the mind's restless chatter—a testament to the oldest magic: the willing surrender of the self to wonder.

verb

To place under the influence of a magical spell; to enchant or bewitch with a spell.
To captivate, or hold the attention of, as if by a magic spell; to entrance.