hypnotic

UK/hɪpˈnɒ.tɪk/US/hɪpˈnɑ.tɪk/

adjectiveC1Very rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speechneutral

Hypnotic means so rhythmic and absorbing that it puts you into a kind of trance. You meant to look away five minutes ago.

It describes rhythm, movement and voices, so a hypnotic beat, hypnotic waves and a hypnotic speaker all hold attention without effort. It is a compliment about art and a warning about screens. The clinical sense is precise, since a hypnotic drug is one that induces sleep. Hypnosis itself is a genuine and poorly understood state, and stage hypnotism has given the whole field a doubtful reputation.

Definitions of hypnotic

1adjectivehypnoticAbsorbing and rhythmic in a way that holds the attention completely.C1
“The sound of the rain was almost hypnotic.”

Also accepted in games: mesmerizing

Where it comes from

Hypnotic means sleep-bringing. Greek hypnos was sleep and hypnōtikos meant inclined to put to sleep, so a hypnotic rhythm is one that puts you under.

Proto-Indo-European
*swep-
Ancient Greek
ὑπνωτικός — inclined to sleep, putting to sleep, sleepy
Latin
hypnoticus
French
hypnotique — inclined to sleep, soporific
English, today
hypnotic

Built from

ὑπνόω · Ancient Greek — to put to sleep
ὕπνος · Ancient Greek — sleep

From French hypnotique (“inclined to sleep, soporific”), from Latin hypnoticus, from Ancient Greek ὑπνωτικός (“inclined to sleep, putting to sleep, sleepy”), from ὑπνόω (“to put to sleep”), from ὕπνος (“sleep”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 14 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

hypnotic in the wild

Some hypnotics are also used to treat narcolepsy and hypersomnia by improving sleep at night and thereby reducing daytime sleepiness.
Hypnotic
Certain hypnotics can be used to treat non-restorative sleep and associated symptoms in conditions like fibromyalgia as well.
Hypnotic
Hypnosis usually begins with a hypnotic induction involving a series of preliminary instructions and suggestions.
Hypnosis
The term sedative describes drugs that serve to calm or relieve anxiety, whereas the term hypnotic describes drugs whose main purpose is to initiate, sustain, or lengthen sleep.
Sedative
The original neuropsychological theory of hypnotic suggestion was based upon the ideomotor reflex response that William B.
Suggestion

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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