fascinated

Everyday

1. Extremely interested in something, so that you want to keep watching or learning about it. tree →
2. Held still by something you cannot stop looking at, as if under a spell. tree →

In the lessons

A key school word: pupils are fascinated by dinosaurs, space or volcanoes. In stories, a character fascinated by something often follows it into adventure, like Toad fascinated by motor cars. Phrases: «fascinated by», «fascinated with».

Examples

• I am fascinated by volcanoes. tree →
• The children watched the caterpillar, fascinated. tree →
• Toad was fascinated by the motor car. tree →
• She was fascinated with the stars and wanted to be an astronaut. tree →
• The cat sat fascinated by the goldfish. tree →
• We were fascinated to learn how bees make honey. tree →
• He did it with such an air, he was so frightfully distingué, that she was too fascinated to cry out. tree →

Note

Trap: «fascinated» describes the person who feels the interest; «fascinating» describes the thing that causes it. «I am fascinated» (not «I am fascinating», which means you are the interesting thing). Spelling: sc in the middle.