Fascinating

How to spell fascinating

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce fascinating

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does fascinating mean?

1. adjectiveExtremely interesting or captivating, holding one's attention completely.

Fascinating in a sentence

• The documentary on deep-sea creatures was absolutely fascinating.

• She gave a fascinating talk about how ancient coins were minted.

Where does fascinating come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb fascinare, meaning 'to bewitch, to enchant, or to cast a spell on someone'. That verb was built on the noun fascinum, which named both a magic spell or act of witchcraft and, more concretely, a protective amulet that Romans believed warded off the evil eye. English adopted the verb 'fascinate' in the late 1500s, when it still carried that strong sense of holding someone spellbound or robbing them of the power to move, much as a snake was said to transfix its prey. Over the following centuries the supernatural force faded and the meaning softened into the modern idea of capturing attention and arousing intense interest. The unusual 'sc' cluster, pronounced as a simple 's' sound, is the lasting fingerprint of that Latin root and is exactly where writers tend to slip.

How the word is built

• fascin- (from Latin fascinum: a spell, charm)
• -ate (verb-forming)
• -ing (present participle / adjective suffix)