mesmerism en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈmɛz.məˌɹɪz.əm/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- audio Queensland
- /ˈmez.məˌɹɪz.əm/ (Australia)
- /ˈmɛz.mɚˌɪz.əm/ (Canada, General-American)
Etymology
From French mesmérisme, analysable as Mesmer + -ism; so called after Franz Anton Mesmer (1734–1815), a German physician who developed the animal magnetism theory.
Meanings
-
(broadly, countable, uncountable) The method or power of gaining control over someone's personality or actions.
What is the secret mesmerism which friendship possesses, and under the operation of which a person ordinarily sluggish, or cold, or timid, becomes wise, active, and resolute, in another's behalf?
1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 23, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:Near-synonyms: hypnosis, hypnotism, power of suggestion
- (broadly, countable, qualifier:strictly, uncountable) The method or power of gaining control over someone's personality or actions. ▸ The theory and practice of Mesmer himself or his disciples, which involved hypnosis and a superstructure of theory that included animal magnetism.
-
(countable, uncountable) The state induced by hypnotic methods (especially those of Mesmer himself).
Near-synonyms: hypnosis, trance
...the fact stood proven that I had seen it in my vision. Lawks! ...When the magician's engagement closed there was but one person in the village who did not believe in mesmerism, and I was the one. All the others were converted, but I was to remain an implacable and unpersuadable disbeliever in mesmerism and hypnotism for close upon fifty years.
2010, Mark Twain, Autobiography of Mark Twain, volume 2, page 302:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| mesmerisms | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
mesmerist · mesmerizing · mesmerized · mesmerize · mesmeric · phrenomesmerism
Relateds
Synonyms
hypnosis · hypnosis · hypnotism · hypnotism · power of suggestion · power of suggestion · hypnosis · trance
Translations (8)
fi mesmerismi (mesmerism) · gl mesmerismo (mesmerism) · sv mesmerism (mesmerism) · pt mesmerismo (mesmerism) · es mesmerismo (mesmerism) · hi मेस्मरिज्म (mesmerism) · ko 메스머주의 (mesmerism) · de Mesmerismus (mesmerism)