infatuated
Meaning
Having an intense but often foolish or short-lived passion or admiration for someone or something.
Structure
Usage
He was completely infatuated with his new colleague, unable to focus on anything else.
The public's infatuated response to the fad faded as quickly as it had begun.
She realized her feelings were merely an infatuation, not deep love.
Etymology
The word 'infatuated' originates from the Latin verb infatuare, which means "to make a fool of". This verb itself is a compound of the prefix in- (here signifying "into" or a state of being) and the adjective fatuus (foolish). The literal sense is "to be brought into a foolish state". Over time, the meaning evolved from the general act of making someone foolish to the specific, intense, and often irrational passion associated with being foolishly in love or obsessed. The modern sense retains this core logic of a passion so strong it clouds judgment, linking the ancient concept of folly directly to the contemporary experience of obsessive admiration.
Analysis
- in: Latin prefix meaning "in, into, on". - fatu: From Latin root fatuus meaning "foolish, silly, insipid". - ated: English suffix forming adjectives from verbs, meaning "characterized by, having the qualities of".