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ravish

If you are ravished by a piece of music, you are overcome with intense feeling while listening to it. The older meaning of ravish is to overcome by physical assault (especially sexual assault) and is still sometimes used.

Ravish is a verb of contrasts, having two meanings that, while both dealing with emotional issues, are polar opposites — the first being to fill with joy, the second being to assault and violate a woman against her will. The history of ravish began with the negative connotation — that of seizing by violence and carrying someone, usually a woman, away. It comes from the Latin rapere, although the meaning wasn't always sexual violation — the idea of rape didn't appear until the mid-15th century.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: ravish

1
v
force (someone) to have sex against their will
2
v
hold spellbound
FULL DEFINITIONS OF: ravish
1

v force (someone) to have sex against their will

Synonyms:
assault, dishonor, dishonour, outrage, rape, violate
Types:
gang-rape
rape (someone) successively with several attackers
Type of:
assail, assault, attack, set on
attack someone physically or emotionally
2

v hold spellbound

Synonyms:
delight, enchant, enrapture, enthral, enthrall, transport
Antonyms:
disenchant, disillusion
free from enchantment
Type of:
delight, please
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
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