Literary notes about captivating (AI summary)
The word “captivating” is employed to imbue both characters and settings with an irresistible charm that draws readers in, whether through physical allure or the magnetism of a refined demeanor. Writers use it to describe not only beauty and grace—as seen when a character’s manner or smile lights up a scene [1, 2]—but also to convey the entrancing quality of ideas or the natural world, lending even abstract concepts an engaging appeal [3, 4]. In this way, “captivating” enhances narrative depth by suggesting that something or someone possesses an inherent, almost magical, quality that effortlessly holds the audience’s attention [5, 6].
- 'Now don't you be offended at what I'm a going to say,' observed Mrs. Mann, with captivating sweetness.
— from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens - "I never saw Miss Ellen look prettier or fresher than she does to-night," remarked a gentleman to the captivating young Mrs. Mason.
— from Lily Pearl and The Mistress of Rosedale by Ida Glenwood - Then all of a sudden it seemed to him that the air began to vibrate faintly with a vague, captivating rhythm.
— from Boyhood in Norway: Stories of Boy-Life in the Land of the Midnight Sun by Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen - Why, I ask you, did you find so much captivating logic, so much persuasive eloquence, in the sermon of Father Paul?
— from Monsieur, Madame, and Bébé — Complete by Gustave Droz - I could only sit down before my fire, biting the key of my carpet-bag, and think of the captivating, girlish, bright-eyed lovely Dora.
— from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens - he heard a voice, a very beautiful, very soft, very captivating voice ...
— from The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
