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The history of enthrall appeals far less than the word as we use it today might suggest. In Middle English, enthrallen meant “to deprive of privileges; to put in bondage.” Thrall then, as now, referred to bondage or slavery. An early figurative use of enthrall appeared in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream: “So is mine eye enthralled to thy shape.” But we rarely use even this sense of mental or moral control anymore. More often, the word simply suggests a state of being generally captivated or delighted by some particular thing. Enthrall is commonly found in its past participle form enthralled, which can mean “spellbound,” as in “we listened, enthralled, to the elder's oral history.”
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Examples of enthrall in a Sentence
Katie Campione, Deadline, 22 Oct. 2024
Van Gogh’s life and work continue to enthrall the public more than 130 years after his death.
—Leslie Katz, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024
Bombadil is an intriguing character in the novels, with a curiously lackadaisical attitude toward the ring that enthralls nearly everyone else in Middle-earth.
—Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone, 15 Aug. 2024
Swimming against the current, and splashing water in our faces, has always seems to enthrall and energize him and Smashing Pumpkins.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 5 Aug. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Enthrall.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enthrall. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.
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