transfix

C1 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /trænsˈfɪks/ See IPA manual

Freq #283130

Meanings

1

verb
To make someone unable to move or look away, through fear, amazement, or wonder.

The audience sat transfixed as the dancer spun across the stage.
2

verb
To pierce something through with a sharp, pointed object.

The hunter's spear transfixed the charging animal.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to make someone unable to... grip

2 verb · to pierce something through... spike impale

Word family

Forms transfixedtransfixestransfixing

Related forms transfixationtransfixiontransfixture

Etymology

From Middle French transfixer, from Old French transfixer, from Latin transfigō (“to pierce through”), from trans- (“through”) + figō (“to pierce”).

transfixer Middle French transfigō Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# transfix

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /trænsˈfɪks/
**Frequency rank:** 283130

## Meanings
1. To make someone unable to move or look away, through fear, amazement, or wonder.
2. To pierce something through with a sharp, pointed object.

## Examples
- The audience sat transfixed as the dancer spun across the stage.
- The hunter's spear transfixed the charging animal.

## Related Forms
- transfixation
- transfixion
- transfixture

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: transfixer
- Root: transfigō

## Etymology
From Middle French transfixer, from Old French transfixer, from Latin transfigō (“to pierce through”), from trans- (“through”) + figō (“to pierce”).

## AI Etymology
Transfix is from Middle French transfixer, from Old French transfixer, from Latin transfigō (“to pierce through”), from trans- (“through”) + figō (“to pierce”). In present-day use, it can mean to make someone unable to move or look away, through fear, amazement, or wonder, or to pierce something through with a sharp, pointed object. Related vocabulary includes transfixation, transfixion, and transfixture.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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