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Enchant vs Captivate - What's the difference?

enchant | captivate |

As verbs the difference between enchant and captivate

is that enchant is to attract and delight, to charm while captivate is to attract and hold interest and attention of; charm.

enchant

English

Alternative forms

* enchaunt (obsolete) * inchant (obsolete) * inchaunt (obsolete)

Verb

(en verb)
  • To attract and delight, to charm.
  • * 2012 October 31, David M. Halbfinger, "[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/nyregion/new-jersey-continues-to-cope-with-hurricane-sandy.html?hp]," New York Times (retrieved 31 October 2012):
  • New Jersey was reeling on Wednesday from the impact of Hurricane Sandy, which has caused catastrophic flooding here in Hoboken and in other New York City suburbs, destroyed entire neighborhoods across the state and wiped out iconic boardwalks in shore towns that had enchanted generations of vacationgoers.
  • To cast a spell over.
  • * 2009 , Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Bestiary , Paizo Publishing, ISBN 978-1-60125-183-1, page 241
  • With the aid of his eponymous pipes, a satyr is capable of weaving a wide variety of melodic spells designed to enchant others and bring them in line with his capricious desires.

    Derived terms

    * enchanted * enchanter * enchanting * enchantment * enchantress

    captivate

    English

    Verb

    (captivat)
  • To attract and hold interest and attention of; charm.
  • * Washington Irving
  • small landscapes of captivating loveliness
  • *, chapter=3
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=One saint's day in mid-term a certain newly appointed suffragan-bishop came to the school chapel, and there preached on “The Inner Life.”  He at once secured attention by his informal method, and when presently the coughing of Jarvis […] interrupted the sermon, he altogether captivated his audience with a remark about cough lozenges being cheap and easily procurable.}}
  • (obsolete) To take prisoner; to capture; to subdue.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Their woes whom fortune captivates .
  • * Glanvill
  • 'Tis a greater credit to know the ways of captivating Nature, and making her subserve our purposes, than to have learned all the intrigues of policy.

    Anagrams

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