Meanings
- uncountableSexual attractiveness; charisma derived from non-intellectual characteristics.
Near-synonym: sex appeal
Synonyms: sex appeal
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSexual attractiveness; charisma derived from non-intellectual characteristics.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Frenchmagnétisme animal
- Englishanimal magnetism
Calque of French magnétisme animal; 18th century. The pseudoscientific sense (sense 2) predates the sense that is now the more common one.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Czech biomagnetismus
- biomagnetismusmagnetic fluid or ethereal medium said to reside in the bodies of animate beings
Dutch magnetiseur
- magnetiseurmagnetic fluid or ethereal medium said to reside in the bodies of animate beings
Finnish mesmerismi
- mesmerismimagnetic fluid or ethereal medium said to reside in the bodies of animate beings
French magnétisme animal
- magnétisme animalmagnetic fluid or ethereal medium said to reside in the bodies of animate beings
German Animalischer Magnetismus
- Animalischer Magnetismusmagnetic fluid or ethereal medium said to reside in the bodies of animate beings
Italian mesmerismo
- mesmerismomagnetic fluid or ethereal medium said to reside in the bodies of animate beings
Lithuanian mesmerizmas
- mesmerizmasmagnetic fluid or ethereal medium said to reside in the bodies of animate beings
Norwegian mesmerisme
- mesmerismemagnetic fluid or ethereal medium said to reside in the bodies of animate beings
Polish magnetyzm zwierzęcy
- magnetyzm zwierzęcymagnetic fluid or ethereal medium said to reside in the bodies of animate beings
Portuguese mesmerismo, magnetismo animal
- mesmerismomagnetic fluid or ethereal medium said to reside in the bodies of animate beings
- magnetismo animalmagnetic fluid or ethereal medium said to reside in the bodies of animate beings
Romanian magnetism animal
- magnetism animalmagnetic fluid or ethereal medium said to reside in the bodies of animate beings
Spanish mesmerismo
- mesmerismomagnetic fluid or ethereal medium said to reside in the bodies of animate beings
Swedish mesmerism
- mesmerismmagnetic fluid or ethereal medium said to reside in the bodies of animate beings
Cite this entry
animal magnetism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/animal%20magnetism
“animal magnetism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/animal%20magnetism. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “animal magnetism,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/animal%20magnetism.
Source: animal magnetism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.