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What is the origin of infatuated?
When we speak of someone being infatuated it very often is in relationship to that person having seemingly taken leave of his or her senses, especially in a romantic context (“he was so infatuated that he could not remember what day of the week it was”). This is fitting, as the word shares an origin with the word fatuous, which means complacently or inanely foolish. Both words come from the Latin fatuus (“foolish”), although fatuous is not often used in the romantic contexts in which we find infatuate. When used with a preposition infatuated is typically followed by with.
Examples of infatuate in a Sentence
James Mercadante and Stephanie Kaloi, EW.com, 11 May 2024
Last produced by San Diego Opera in 2012, this 1891 German opera was inspired by Oscar Wilde’s play about princess Salome, who becomes infatuated with John the Baptist (Jochanaan), who is a prisoner in her stepfather King Herod’s court.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 May 2024
Ellis said Todd was infatuated with Vernon, even buying a new dress for an upcoming performance in the hopes of sparking a romance.
—Kelly Heinzerling, ABC News, 3 May 2024
Ursula, infatuated, insisted on sitting on a hay bale, sketching them for hours on end.
—Plum Sykes, Vogue, 2 May 2024
The Clifford family of Edmond, Okla., tracked down an octopus for their son Cal, 9, who has been infatuated with the sea animals for years.
—Michael Levenson, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024
She was infatuated by home design from a young age, credit to her mother and grandmother.
—Cameron Beall, Southern Living, 8 Apr. 2024
Tom becomes infatuated with Dickie and his lifestyle, then kills him to avoid being deserted — and the cover-up spirals from there.
—Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2024
When his work, along with that of other Ukiyo-e artists of that period, was discovered by French artists, they were infatuated.
—Geraldine Fabrikant, New York Times, 19 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'infatuate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Infatuate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/infatuate. Accessed 19 May. 2024.
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