To transfix is to pierce through with something pointed—a spear transfixes its target.
More commonly, transfix describes being frozen in place by intense emotion or fascination: She stood transfixed by the painting.
Fear, horror, or wonder can transfix someone, holding them motionless and captivated: The audience sat transfixed throughout the performance.
1. captivate — spellbind, Captivate completely, immovably; mesmerize (Capture attention completely); hypnotize (Induce altered consciousness); entrance (Point of access); enrapture · enthrall · rivet · grip · engross · absorb · bewitch · enchant · fascinate · arrest
2. impale — pierce, Make hole through; skewer (Pointed cooking rod); spear (Pole with sharp point); stab (Pierce with point); spike · pin · lance · gore · harpoon · bayonet · penetrate · perforate · puncture · run through
Opposites
ATTENTION AND CAPTIVATIONtransfix ≠ bore Tiresome individual or drill; tire · weary · fatigue · repel · disinterest
PHYSICAL MOVEMENT AND STILLNESStransfix ≠ release To let go; free · mobilize · unfreeze · animate · liberate
Categories
piercing: pierce, piercing, puncture, puncturing, stab; allure: attraction, attract, magnetism, charisma, attractiveness; morphemes: morpheme, infix, root, stem, -ed; word formation: affixes, affixation, roots, infix, morphemes; trans: transform, transit, translate, transmit, transport
Family
transfixed, transfixing, transfixes
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- Used worldwide · Timeless · Abstract · Everyday, not technical · Rated G