ravish

/ˈrævɪʃ/

/ˈrævɪʃ/

Other forms: ravishing; ravished; ravishes

If you are ravished by a piece of music, you are overcome with intense feeling while listening to it. The older meaning of ravish is to overcome by physical assault (especially sexual assault) and is still sometimes used.

Ravish is a verb of contrasts, having two meanings that, while both dealing with emotional issues, are polar opposites — the first being to fill with joy, the second being to assault and violate a woman against her will. The history of ravish began with the negative connotation — that of seizing by violence and carrying someone, usually a woman, away. It comes from the Latin rapere, although the meaning wasn't always sexual violation — the idea of rape didn't appear until the mid-15th century.

Definitions of ravish

1. verb

   hold spellbound
   synonyms: delight, enchant, enrapture, enthral, enthrall, transport

   type of:

   delight, please

   give pleasure to or be pleasing to
2. verb

   force (someone) to have sex against their will
   types:

   gang-rape

   rape (someone) successively with several attackers

   type of:

   assail, assault, attack, set on

   attack someone physically or emotionally