fascination

/fæsɪˈneɪʃɪn/

/fæsɪˈneɪʃən/

Other forms: fascinations

If diamondback turtles hold a certain fascination for you, you know everything there is to know about them, you talk about them all the time, and maybe you've embroidered one on your pillowcase. Fascination is an irresistible attraction.

Be careful to use the right preposition: you've got a fascination with handsome princes, but handsome princes hold a fascination for you. When you have a fascination, it's as if you're bewitched, and — what do you know? — the word goes back to the Latin fascinare, which means "cast a spell on."

Definitions of fascination

1. noun

   the state of being intensely interested (as by awe or terror)
   synonyms: captivation

   type of:

   enchantment, spell, trance

   a psychological state induced by (or as if induced by) a magical incantation
2. noun

   the capacity to attract intense interest
   “he held the children spellbound with magic tricks and other fascinations”

   type of:

   attraction, attractiveness

   the quality of arousing interest; being attractive or something that attracts
3. noun

   a feeling of great liking for something wonderful and unusual
   synonyms: captivation, enchantment, enthrallment

   type of:

   liking

   a feeling of pleasure and enjoyment