different between beguile vs mesmerise

English

Alternative forms

• begyle [from the Middle English period through the 16th century]

Etymology

From Middle English begilen, begylen; equivalent to be- +? guile. Compare Middle Dutch begilen (“to beguile”). Doublet of bewile.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -a?l
• IPA^(key): /b???a?l/

Verb

beguile (third-person singular simple present beguiles, present participle beguiling, simple past and past participle beguiled)

1. (transitive) To deceive or delude (using guile).
   • a. 1608, William Shakespeare, King Lear, II, II, 102.

     I know, sir, I am no flatterer: he that beguiled you, in a plain accent, was a plain knave.

2. (transitive) To charm, delight or captivate.
   • 1864 November 21, Abraham Lincoln (signed) or John Hay, letter to Mrs. Bixby in Boston

     I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming.

   I will never touch The Orb, even though its mysterious glow seduces and beguiles.

3. (transitive) To cause (time) to seem to pass quickly, by way of pleasant diversion.

   We beguiled the hours away

Related terms

• wile

Translations

References

• beguile in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• beguile in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

English

Verb

mesmerise (third-person singular simple present mesmerises, present participle mesmerising, simple past and past participle mesmerised)

1. Non-Oxford British English standard spelling of mesmerize.