mesmerize
/ˈmɛzməɹaɪz/
"mesmerize" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“mesmerize” is uncommon English (frequency #98,439 among 36,575 “M” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #98,439
- frequency rank, English
- 36,575
- “M” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To exercise mesmerism on; to affect another person, such as to heal or soothe, through the use of animal magnetism.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | mesmerize |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈmɛzməɹaɪz/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #98,439 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “mesmerize” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
mesmerize is uncommon English at frequency #98,439 among 36,575 “M” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈmɛzməɹaɪz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for mesmerize, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Back-formation from mesmerism, thus mesmerism + -ize; first attested in 1829. The correct English form is mesmerize, spelled M-E-S-M-E-R-I-Z-E.
Definition
- 1To exercise mesmerism on; to affect another person, such as to heal or soothe, through the use of animal magnetism.
- 2To spellbind; to enthrall.
Etymology
Back-formation from mesmerism, thus mesmerism + -ize; first attested in 1829.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “mesmerize”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-E-S-M-E-R-I-Z-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈmɛzməɹaɪz/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.