fascinationfas‧ci‧na‧tion /ˌfæsəˈneɪʃən/ ●○○ noun 
Police knew of his fascination with guns.in fascination The children watched in fascination.2[countable, uncountable] something that interests you very much, or the quality of being very interestinghold/have a fascination for somebody India will always hold a great fascination for me. The fascination lay in the mystery of what was inside the box.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Mark has a fascination for all things electrical.
- What's your sudden fascination with my boyfriend?
- Her distaste has since evolved into ambivalent fascination.
- No one admitted his emotions, neither the irritation nor the fascination.
- The roots of this new fascination can be traced back to the heart of minimalism.
- There is a certain peculiar fascination in the stories.
- There was too much of the outlaw about him that held its own fascination.
Longman Language Activatorfeeling interested in something
if you are interested in something, you give it your attention because you want to know more about it: · The children seemed very interested when I showed them my photographs.· I can't remember the name of the book, but if you're interested I can find out.interested in: · I've never really been interested in politics.· Bob first got interested in motor cycles when he was about sixteen.interested to know/hear/see/learn etc something: · You're an expert on legal problems - I'd be interested to know what you think.· We'd be very interested to hear your opinion about this.
to feel interested in something because it is the type of thing that you usually like to know more about: · It's a book about travelling round India. I thought you'd find it interesting.find sth interesting to read/watch/hear about etc: · I always find wildlife programmes interesting to watch.
especially written if you do something with interest , you do it in a way that shows you are interested: · Richard listened with interest to the conversation at the next table.with great interest: · I read with great interest your article concerning the history of the university.
if there is interest in something, several or a lot of people are interested in it and want to find out more about it: · There has always been a lot of interest in the question of life on other planets.· The Head of Geography said the project was an example of the school's continuing interest in environmental issues.take an interest in something: · I was a teenager when I first took a serious interest in films.· Children with parents who take an interest in their education generally do better at school.
to say or do something to show that you are interested in something: · If you think you'd like the job, you should at least express an interest.show/express (an) interest in: · Several companies have already expressed interest in our research.· At a few weeks old, most babies are showing an interest in what is going on around them.
eager to find out more about something because you are interested but do not know much about it: · The visitors were soon surrounded by a crowd of curious children.· I'm not being nosy, I'm just curious.curious about: · People have always been curious about exactly how life on earth began.curious to know/find out/discover etc something: · He was curious to find out why she had left her job so suddenly.
extremely interested in something that you are watching or listening to, especially because it is unusual: · She watched, fascinated, as the bird came closer until she could almost touch it.· The more I heard about him, the more fascinated I became.fascinated by: · I was fascinated by her stories of her childhood in Africa.fascinated to discover/find out/learn etc: · He was fascinated to discover that they had both been born in the same town on the same day.
to have a very strong and often unusual interest in something: · I've always had this strange fascination with the circus.· Her writing shows a fascination for the darker side of life.
interested by something and eager to know more about it, because it seems mysterious or strange: · "Stop me if I'm boring you." "No, please carry on - I'm intrigued!"· Scientists became intrigued by the rock, which appeared to have come from outer space.intrigued by: · Diana was intrigued by Sue's cryptic message on the answerphone.intrigued to find out/learn/know etc: · I was intrigued to find that she spoke Aramaic.
British spoken informal to be very interested in a subject or activity, and to spend a lot of time on it because you enjoy it: · Both the kids are into computer games at the moment, and nothing else!be into doing something: · Luke's really into keeping fit - he goes running at 6 o'clock every day.
an obsession about someone or something an unreasonably strong and continuous interest in someone or something, so that you cannot stop thinking about them and your behaviour is seriously affected: become an obsession/turn into an obsession: · Julia's desire to stay slim has become an obsession.obsession with/for: · Picasso's obsession with death and sickness greatly influenced his work.· I knew that if I wasn't careful, my obsession for her could destroy me.have an obsession: · Bowman has a dangerous obsession with speed.
a very strong desire for something or interest in something, especially one that affects a lot of people at the same time: mania for: · A mania for a game called Nibs ran through the school.· I had a mania for cleanliness, and once made him stay in all day while I washed all his clothes.religious/gambling etc mania: · Aunt Edna was scathing about her cousin's religious mania.
an unnaturally strong interest in or love for someone or something: fixation with/on: · our fixation with diet and fitness· The killing was the result of Dougherty's four year fixation with a co-worker who would not date him.
a very strong and unusual interest in a particular person, subject, or type of thing: fascination with/for: · What's your sudden fascination with my boyfriend?· Mark has a fascination for all things electrical.
an extremely strong and unreasonable interest in something: fetish for: · Americans seem to have a fetish for watering their golf courses.a foot/hair/animal etc fetish: · She told stories about the band's alcoholic binges, their arrests on drug charges, and even about one member's foot fetish.
a strong interest in one thing, usually because you are worried about it, which means that you cannot pay attention to other things: preoccupation with: · Georgina's preoccupation with her appearance takes up most of her time.· Writing a will is not evidence of a morbid preoccupation with death.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES a morbid fascination with instruments of tortureCOLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
1[singular, uncountable] the state of being very interested in something, so that you want to look at it, learn about it etcfascination for/with a morbid fascination with instruments of torture· The Doctor watched all this in horrified fascination.· Nails watched it with horrified fascination, and saw it start to slide towards him.· In this, again, they resemble Swift, though they rarely share his horrified fascination.· He watched in horrified fascination as the lieutenant took out a single match and poised it over the striking strip.· She wondered in horrified fascination what they were going to do to her.
· Is it morbid fascination that holds your attention?
VERB· Kennedy has long held a fascination for Jimi Hendrix, who died from a drugs overdose in 1970.· Miss Dowd had been murdered in her cage by a demented mooch and her picture held a dreadful fascination for Rowena.· For Elizabeth Gould, however, this ornithological cornucopia right on the doorstep did not hold the same all-encompassing fascination.· There was too much of the outlaw about him that held its own fascination.· Carnivorous plants apparently hold a macabre fascination for gardeners and they're becoming increasingly popular.· It appeared to hold a mesmeric fascination for him as his dark, red-veined eyes watched the rising curlicue of steam.· The refrigerator, squat and gleaming like a surgical sarcophagus, had held a sinister fascination for her ever since.
· At first, Lucien had watched them in awed fascination, hardly daring to practise any movements himself for fear of ridicule.· Most of the kids were a little older than Janir, and he watched them with a fascination that bordered on hunger.· Riven watched in fascination, for he had never seen the Myrcans more animated.· Lorraine watches in appalled fascination as this wobbling tub of seventy-year-old lard plunges into the sea.· Converse watched him spit with fascination.· They stood watching dumbly in horrible fascination after it shattered.· Gaal had never before seen so great a Lord and he watched him with fascination.
Police knew of his fascination with guns.in fascination The children watched in fascination.2[countable, uncountable] something that interests you very much, or the quality of being very interestinghold/have a fascination for somebody India will always hold a great fascination for me. The fascination lay in the mystery of what was inside the box.