a half-conscious state, seemingly between sleeping and waking, in which ability to function voluntarily may be suspended.
a dazed or bewildered condition.
a state of complete mental absorption or deep musing.
an unconscious, cataleptic, or hypnotic condition.
Spiritualism. a temporary state in which a medium, with suspension of personal consciousness, is controlled by an intelligence from without and used as a means of communication, as from the dead.
verb (used with object),tranced,tranc·ing.
to put in a trance; stupefy.
to entrance; enrapture.
Origin of trance
1
1300–50; Middle English traunce state of extreme dread, swoon, dazed state <Middle French transe literally, passage (from life to death), derivative of transir to go across, pass over <Latin trānsīre, equivalent to trāns-trans- + īre to go
Gray Cloud, in a trance, might already have frozen to death.
Shaman|Robert Shea
Some, with eyes staring straight ahead, seem as in a trance.
The Greater Love|George T. McCarthy
For poor Squire Philip fell into a trance, so to say, out of sheer vexation.
The Maid of Sker|Richard Doddridge Blackmore
Her father again grew deeply concerned about her, and tried casually to draw her out of the trance that seemed to chain her soul.
The Life of Thomas Wanless, Peasant|Alexander Johnstone Wilson
Langhetti, however, found that one of them was only in a 'trance state,' and his efforts for resuscitation were successful.
Cord and Creese|James de Mille
British Dictionary definitions for trance
trance
/ (trɑːns) /
noun
a hypnotic state resembling sleep
any mental state in which a person is unaware or apparently unaware of the environment, characterized by loss of voluntary movement, rigidity, and lack of sensitivity to external stimuli
a dazed or stunned state
a state of ecstasy or mystic absorption so intense as to cause a temporary loss of consciousness at the earthly level
spiritualisma state in which a medium, having temporarily lost consciousness, can supposedly be controlled by an intelligence from without as a means of communication with the dead
a type of electronic dance music with repetitive rhythms, aiming at a hypnotic effect
verb
(tr)to put into or as into a trance
Derived forms of trance
trancelike, adjective
Word Origin for trance
C14: from Old French transe, from transir to faint, pass away, from Latin trānsīre to go over, from trans- + īre to go