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.

Idioms beginning with charm:
charmed life

See also (charm the) pants off; work like a charm.

Definition: enchantment, allure
Antonyms: repulsion

v

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

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.

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:

"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

• Animal Groups - charm: group of finches
• Nuclear and Particle Physics - charm: quantum number assigned the value +1 for one kind of quark, -1 for its antiquark, and zero for all other quarks
• Jewelry - charm: representational item worn as protection from evil, token of luck, or to invoke magic powers
• Flirtation, Dating, and Courting - charm: (vb) attract and please another
• Myths, Legends, and Fables - charm: amulet or object that brings luck or wards off evil
• Individuals and Objects - charm: amulet worn to ward off evil and bring good fortune

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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