infatuation

noun

in·​fat·​u·​a·​tion in-ˌfa-chə-ˈwā-shən 

-chü-ˈā-

plural infatuations

1

: a feeling of foolish or obsessively strong love for, admiration for, or interest in someone or something : strong and unreasoning attachment

She speaks openly about the real-life subject of one of her songs, a conservatory teacher who is both a neighbor in her apartment building and the unwilling object of her obsessive infatuation.

—Sasha Frere-Jones

Craig Claiborne wrote about it in 1963, when he was deep in his infatuation with dill and meatballs and all things Nordic.

—Amanda Hesser

2

: the object of an unreasoning or foolish attachment

And then, I began trying to forge their autographs. I'm not sure why I did it at first, but it became an infatuation.

—Zach Selwyn

Synonyms of infatuation

• crush

Examples of infatuation in a Sentence

had a brief infatuation with the captain of the ski team

Recent Examples on the Web

All the while, Oh and Comer’s slow dance of antagonism crossed with infatuation is some of the most thrilling acting in recent television memory. —Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Mar. 2026

Perhaps the intent is to cultivate suspense, yet the effect is a frustrating vagueness around the base conditions for the show’s central infatuation. —Alison Herman, Variety, 5 Mar. 2026

And the arsenal was only the latest example of his infatuation with secreting away weaponry. —James Verini, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026

With complicated infatuations, these are leading characters of the Dallas Opera’s 2026-27 season. —Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, 24 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1648, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing infatuation

• self-infatuation

Rhymes for infatuation

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration