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charm

 
(chärm) pronunciation
n.
  1. The power or quality of pleasing or delighting; attractiveness: a breezy tropical setting of great charm.
  2. A particular quality that attracts; a delightful characteristic: A mischievous grin was among the child's many charms.
  3. A small ornament, such as one worn on a bracelet.
  4. An item worn for its supposed magical benefit, as in warding off evil; an amulet.
  5. An action or formula thought to have magical power.
  6. The chanting of a magic word or verse; incantation.
  7. Physics. A quantum property of the charm quark whose conservation explains the absence of certain strange-particle decay modes and that accounts for the longevity of the J particle.

v., charmed, charm·ing, charms.

v.tr.
  1. To attract or delight greatly: the simple elegance of the meal charmed the guests.
  2. To induce by using strong personal attractiveness: charmed the guard into admitting them without invitations.
  3. To cast or seem to cast a spell on; bewitch.
v.intr.
  1. To be alluring or pleasing.
  2. To function as an amulet or charm.
  3. To use magic spells.

[Middle English charme, magic spell, from Old French, from Latin carmen, incantation.]

charmingly charm'ing·ly adv.
charmless charm'less adj.

SYNONYMS   charm, beguile, bewitch, captivate, enchant, entrance, fascinate. These verbs mean to attract strongly or irresistibly: manners that charmed the old curmudgeon; delicacies that beguile even the most discerning gourmet; a performance that bewitched the audience; a novel that captivates its readers; a child who enchanted his grandparents; music that entrances its listeners; a celebrity who fascinated his interviewer.
ANTONYM  repel


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Roget's Thesaurus:

charm

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noun

  1. The power or quality of attracting: allure, allurement, appeal, attraction, attractiveness, call, charisma, draw, enchantment, enticement, fascination, glamour, lure, magnetism, witchery. Informal pull. See like/dislike.
  2. A small object worn or kept for its supposed magical power: amulet, fetish, juju, periapt, phylactery, talisman. See supernatural.
  3. An object or power that one uses to cause often evil events: evil eye, magic, spell. Slang whammy. See supernatural.

verb

  1. To please greatly or irresistibly: beguile, bewitch, captivate, enchant, entrance, fascinate. See like/dislike.
  2. To act upon with or as if with magic: bewitch, enchant, enthrall, entrance, spell, spellbind, voodoo, witch. See persuasion/dissuasion.


n

Definition: enchantment, allure
Antonyms: repulsion

v

Definition: enchant
Antonyms: displease, irritate, offend, repel, repulse, turn off


(material)

The etymology of the word ‘charm’ (from Latin carmen, ‘a chant’) shows that in medieval times it meant verbal formulas (see next entry), but in modern languages it is far more widely applied. All the varied objects which are worn, carried, or displayed to bring good luck and success, or to avert bad luck and success, or to aver bad luck and evil powers, are popularly called ‘lucky charms’ or mascots (see the latter for a selection); one can also say actions are ‘charms’ when done to produce magical results, for example turning a coin on hearing the first cuckoo, to have money all year.

Certain objects were carefully guarded as healing charms, and lent out to those who needed them— eaglestones for women in labour, beads and holed stones for sore eyes, Irish stones and sticks against snake bites.

charm, magical formula or incantation, spoken or sung, for the purpose of securing blessing, good fortune, or immunity from evil. It presupposes a belief in demons or malignant spirits. The formula was frequently inscribed upon an amulet, talisman, or trinket to be worn for protection.


A magical formula, sung or recited to bring about a supposedly beneficial result as part of a spell, or to confer magical efficacy on an amulet. In popular usage the same word is employed to designate the incantation and the object that is charmed.

Sources:

A Gypsy Queen. Zingara Fortune Teller. Philadelphia: David McKay, 1901.

Lippman, Deborah, and Paul Colin. How to Make Amulets, Charms, & Talismans. New York: M. Evans, 1974.

Sepharial [Walter Gorn Old]. The Book of Charms and Talismans. New York: Arc Books, 1969.

Quotes About:

Charm

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Quotes:

"Charm is the quality in others that makes us more satisfied with ourselves." - Henri Frederic Amiel

"A man of such obvious and exemplary charm must be a liar." - Anita Brookner

"Charm is a glow within a woman which casts a most becoming light on others." - John Mason Brown

"Charm is a way of getting the answer yes without having asked any clear question." - Albert Camus

"All charming people have something to conceal, usually their total dependence on the appreciation of others." - Cyril Connolly

"There is no personal charm so great as the charm of a cheerful temperament." - Henry Van Dyke

See more famous quotes about Charm

Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'charm'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to charm, see:

  See crossword solutions for the clue Charming.
Translations:

Charm

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - charme, trolddom, amulet, vedhæng
v. tr. - charmere, fortrylle, beskytte, opnå ved charme
v. intr. - henrive, henrykke, fortrylle, charmere

idioms:

  • charm offensive    charmeoffensiv
  • like a charm    med mirakuløs virkning
  • turn on the charm    skrue op for charmen

Nederlands (Dutch)
charme, betovering, amulet, betoveren, inpalmen, bezweren

Français (French)
n. - charme, amulette, à breloques (un bracelet), charme (de mots magiques)
v. tr. - charmer, enjôler
v. intr. - charmer, être charmé

idioms:

  • charm offensive    offensive de charme
  • like a charm    comme un charme, faire merveille
  • turn on the charm    charmer

Deutsch (German)
v. - bezaubern, betören
n. - Charme, Reiz, Zauber, Amulett

idioms:

  • charm offensive    zweckdienlicher Charmeeinsatz
  • like a charm    perfekt
  • turn on the charm    seinen Charme spielen lassen

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - γοητεύω, μαγεύω
n. - γοητεία, σαγήνη, χαϊμαλί, φυλαχτό, ξόρκι

idioms:

  • charm offensive    επίθεση γοητείας, επιχείρηση καταγοήτευσης του κοινού
  • like a charm    μια χαρά, ρολόι
  • turn on the charm    επιστρατεύω τη γοητεία μου

Italiano (Italian)
affascinare, incantare, stregare, sedurre, cattivare, fascino, incantesimo, portafortuna, amuleto

idioms:

  • charm offensive    offensiva di lusinghe
  • like a charm    a meraviglia

Português (Portuguese)
v. - seduzir, enfeitiçar, cativar
n. - charme (m), sedução (f), feitiço (m)

idioms:

  • charm offensive    tentativa de se conseguir algo usando-se charme
  • like a charm    feito magia
  • turn on the charm    usar charme

Русский (Russian)
околдовывать, очаровывать, обаяние, чары, талисман

idioms:

  • charm offensive    стараться очаровать
  • like a charm    как по волшебству
  • turn on the charm    очаровать

Español (Spanish)
n. - encanto, atractivo, gracia, simpatía, hechizo, amuleto, dije
v. tr. - hechizar, encantar, seducir, atraer
v. intr. - hechizarse, encantarse

idioms:

  • charm offensive    utilizar simpatía con fines determinados, esforzarse por agradar
  • like a charm    a las mil maravillas
  • turn on the charm    poner en juego su encanto

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - charma, fängsla, trolla
n. - charm, förtrollning, trollformel, amulett, berlock, charm (fys.)

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
吸引力, 魅力, 魔力, 迷住, 行魔法, 使陶醉, 用符咒, 有魔力

idioms:

  • charm offensive    讨好对手
  • like a charm    效验如神地
  • turn on the charm    施展魅力做...

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 吸引力, 魅力, 魔力
v. tr. - 迷住, 行魔法, 使陶醉
v. intr. - 用符咒, 有魔力

idioms:

  • charm offensive    討好對手
  • like a charm    效驗如神地
  • turn on the charm    施展魅力做...

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 매력, 마력, 작은 장식물
v. tr. - 매혹하다, 마법을 걸다, 길들이다
v. intr. - 매력적이다, 마법을 걸다, 약 등이 신기하게 잘 듣다

idioms:

  • like a charm    신기하게
  • turn on the charm    매혹하기 시작하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 魅力, 魔力, 呪文, チャーム, 小さな飾り物, 魔よけ, 飾り
v. - うっとりさせる, 喜ばせる, 魔力をかけて…させる, 呪文で危害から護る, 訓練して使う, よく効く, 魅了する

idioms:

  • charm offensive    魅惑攻撃
  • like a charm    不思議なほど, すばらしく

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) أبهج, أمتع, سحر, فتن, سبى عقله و خلبه (الاسم) جاذبيه, تعويذة‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮קסם, יופי, משיכה, קמיע‬
v. tr. - ‮הקסים, כישף‬
v. intr. - ‮הקסים‬


 
 

 

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