bewitch

[bih-wich] /bɪˈwɪtʃ/
verb (used with object)
1.
to affect by witchcraft or magic; cast a spell over.
2.
to enchant; charm; fascinate.
Origin
1175-1225; Middle English biwicchen. See be-, witch
Related forms
bewitcher, noun
bewitchery, noun
bewitchingness, noun
bewitchment, noun
unbewitched, adjective
Synonyms
2. captivate, enrapture, transport.
Examples from the web for bewitched
  • Children, who had always figured largely in the felony of the age, made a profession of feigning the symptoms of the bewitched.
  • Initially intending to be weekend farmers, soon they are bewitched by the raw beauty of the place and move there permanently.
  • It bewitched the region's left, detaching large parts of it from a path of social democracy for a generation.
  • Surprisingly, he was relieved to know his results because all this time he felt he had been bewitched.
  • Several days later when the woodcutters found him, they thought the tree had bewitched him and began to chop it down.
British Dictionary definitions for bewitched

bewitch

/bɪˈwɪtʃ/
verb (transitive)
1.
to attract and fascinate; enchant
2.
to cast a spell over
Derived Forms
bewitching, adjective
bewitchingly, adverb
Word Origin
C13 bewicchen; see be-, witch
Word Origin and History for bewitched
adj.

late 14c. in the literal sense, past participle adjective from bewitch; figurative use from 1570s.

bewitch

v.

c.1200, biwicchen, from be- + Old English wiccian "to enchant, to practice witchcraft" (see witch). Literal at first, figurative sense of "to fascinate" is from 1520s. *Bewiccian may well have existed in Old English, but it is not attested. Related: Bewitched; bewitching; bewitchingly.