hypnotic
pronunciation
How to pronounce hypnotic in British English:
UK [hɪpˈnɒtɪk]
How to pronounce hypnotic in American English:
US [hɪpˈnɑːtɪk]
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- Noun:
- a drug that induces sleep
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- Adjective:
- attracting and holding interest as if by a spell
Word Origin
- hypnotic (adj.)
- 1620s, "inducing sleep," originally used of drugs, from French hypnotique (16c.) "inclined to sleep, soporific," from Late Latin hypnoticus, from Greek hypnotikos "inclined to sleep, putting to sleep, sleepy," from hypnoun "put to sleep," from hypnos "sleep" (see somnolence). Modern sense of "pertaining to an induced trance" first recorded in English 1843, along with hypnotist, hypnotize, both coined by Dr. James Braid. Related: Hypnotical; hypnotically.
Example
- 1. But three things gave her work its hypnotic power .
- 2. After I chose 34 of the most hypnotizable people from the several hundred that I had tested , I observed their responses to a variety of hypnotic suggestions and interviewed them to see why they might be so easily hypnotized .
- 3. They considered the hypnotic state a psychological one .
- 4. Getting into a hypnotic state is a skill that will improve over time .
- 5. Also between the ages of 6-12 the brain is in a semi hypnotic state .