What does enrapture mean?
Enrapture is a verb meaning to fill a person with intense delight or joy, so thoroughly that they seem carried away by it. When an audience, reader, or listener is enraptured, they are held spellbound by whatever has captivated them — music, storytelling, beauty, or brilliance of any kind. The word is largely transitive: a performance enraptures its audience, and the audience may be described as enraptured. It carries an elevated, literary tone, appearing more often in reviews, essays, and polished writing than in casual speech, where words like delight or thrill do the same work. The verb derives from rapture, which traces back through Latin rapere, meaning to seize or snatch away — so to enrapture someone is, quite literally in etymological terms, to carry them off into delight. Its connotations are wholly positive, implying genuine wonder rather than mere entertainment, which makes it a vivid choice for praising artistry that truly transports those who experience it.
verbTo enrapture someone is to fill them with intense delight or joy, holding their attention completely. It typically describes the effect of something beautiful, moving, or captivating.
- (with object) To fill with intense delight; to transport with joy or pleasure.
"The soprano's final aria enraptured the entire audience."
"The children sat enraptured by the storyteller's tale of faraway kingdoms."
"Her debut novel enraptured critics and readers alike."
Enrapture literally means to 'seize' someone — its Latin root rapere, 'to snatch away,' is the same root behind raptor and rape, making this lovely word's history surprisingly fierce.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of enrapture
Enrapture was formed in English from rapture, adding the intensive prefix en-, and appeared around the late 17th century. Rapture itself comes from Latin raptura, meaning a carrying off or seizure, derived from the verb rapere (to seize), which also gives English such words as raptor, rapacious, and surreptitious. Cognate formations appear in other European languages, including French ravir and Spanish rapto, all preserving that underlying sense of being snatched away — in enrapture's case, by overwhelming pleasure.
Related word forms
How enrapture is actually used
Enrapture is somewhat formal or literary in register, more common in reviews, criticism, and descriptive prose than everyday conversation. It is almost always used transitively — something enraptures someone — and frequently appears in passive constructions ('the audience was enraptured'). Its connotation is entirely positive, suggesting beauty or artistry powerful enough to hold attention completely.
Easily confused with enrapture
Rapture is a noun denoting intense pleasure or joy, while enrapture is the verb meaning to cause that feeling in someone.
Entrapment refers to being caught or lured into wrongdoing, whereas enrapture has nothing to do with traps and means to delight utterly.