Definition

1. Verb:
   • To pierce or impale with a sharp object: To cause a pointed object to pass through something, fixing it in place.
   • To cause someone to become motionless, typically through shock, awe, or terror: To render someone unable to move or act, as if frozen, due to an intense emotion or a powerful experience.

Examples

• Verb (to pierce):
  • The hunter transfixed the wild boar with his spear.
  • The entomologist carefully transfixed the butterfly specimen to the mounting board.
• Verb (to cause motionlessness):
  • The audience was transfixed by the magician's incredible trick.
  • She stood transfixed at the window, watching the violent storm approach.

Advanced Usage

• To be transfixed by/with something: This is the most common construction when describing the state of being rendered motionless.
  • He was transfixed by the beauty of the painting.
  • They were transfixed with horror at the scene of the accident.

Variants and Related Words

• Transfixed (adjective): In a state of being motionless due to shock, awe, or fascination.
  • The transfixed crowd did not make a sound.
• Transfixion (noun): The act of piercing or the state of being transfixed. (This is a less common, more technical term.)

Synonyms

• Impale: To pierce with a sharp stake or point. (Specifically for the first meaning).
• Rivet: To engross or hold (the attention) completely.
• Paralyze: To render unable to move or act. (Often implies incapacity, while "transfix" implies a captivated stillness).
• Mesmerize: To hold the attention of someone entirely.

Phrasal Verbs

(This word does not commonly form phrasal verbs.)

Related Idioms

(This word is not commonly used in specific idioms, but the state it describes is central to many expressions of awe or shock.)

Verb

1. pierce with a sharp stake or point
   • impale a shrimp on a skewer
2. to render motionless, as with a fixed stare or by arousing terror or awe
   • The snake charmer fascinates the cobra