infatuate

1 of 2

verb

in·​fat·​u·​ate in-ˈfa-chə-ˌwāt How to pronounce infatuate (audio)
-chü-ˌāt
infatuated; infatuating

transitive verb

1
: to cause to be foolish : deprive of sound judgment
2
: to inspire with a foolish or extravagant love or admiration

infatuate

2 of 2

adjective

in·​fat·​u·​ate in-ˈfa-chə-wət How to pronounce infatuate (audio)
-chü-ət
: being in an infatuated state or condition

Did you know?

What is the origin of infatuated?

When we speak of someone being infatuated it very often is in relationship to that person having seemingly taken leave of his or her senses, especially in a romantic context (“he was so infatuated that he could not remember what day of the week it was”). This is fitting, as the word shares an origin with the word fatuous, which means complacently or inanely foolish. Both words come from the Latin fatuus (“foolish”), although fatuous is not often used in the romantic contexts in which we find infatuate. When used with a preposition infatuated is typically followed by with.

Examples of infatuate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
But not all hope is lost for those infatuated with the notion of a terror of the river. Max Bennett, Discover Magazine, 16 Jan. 2024 An infamous case of erotomania includes a man who became infatuated with actress Jodie Foster after repeatedly watching the film Taxi Driver and began to stalk her. Mark Travers, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024 Expatriate Russian writer Vladimir Nabokov, cited in the notes in connection with his literary friendships with Wells and Wilson, was never infatuated with communism. Elizabeth Powers, National Review, 21 Dec. 2023 Rousselle did, and became infatuated with Nirvana and Cobain. David Browne, Rolling Stone, 1 Feb. 2024 What DeSantis and his advisors completely missed is that voters were still infatuated with what was subtracted. Adam Hanft, Fortune, 25 Jan. 2024 Lucas was temperamentally unable to build a substantial mythos with the Star Wars franchise, even though generations of children were infatuated. Armond White, National Review, 20 Dec. 2023 While that demo suite of Helena’s theme was indeed elegant and even infatuated, Williams proved his mastery at classical film scoring by adapting it into every conceivable mode — quiet mystery on celesta, playful wisecracking on muted trumpets — to map perfectly onto the character’s arc. Tim Greiving, Los Angeles Times, 14 Nov. 2023 Composers have long been infatuated by Medea’s music charisma. Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 13 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'infatuate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Latin infatuatus, past participle of infatuare, from in- + fatuus fatuous

First Known Use

Verb

circa 1555, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of infatuate was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near infatuate

Cite this Entry

“Infatuate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/infatuate. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

infatuate

verb
in·​fat·​u·​ate
in-ˈfach-ə-ˌwāt
infatuated; infatuating
: to fill with a foolish or excessive love or admiration
infatuation
in-ˌfach-ə-ˈwā-shən
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on infatuate

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!