enamor

Enamor is a verb meaning to fill with love or admiration, or to inflame with love, and can also mean to cause someone to fall in love. The past participle adjective enamored describes someone who is in love with or captivated by something. In British English, the variant enamoured is common.

Etymology: Enamor derives from Old French enamourer, from amour meaning love. The prefix en- conveys “to cause to be,” and the word ultimately traces to Latin amor. Related forms appear in other Romance languages, such as Spanish enamorar and French enamorer.

Usage and notes: In modern English, enamor is relatively formal and less common than the more direct be enamored. The verb can be used transitively to mean “to enamor someone with [something]” (to charm or persuade someone to love or admire) or intransitively to describe becoming captivated. Common prepositional patterns include enamored of, enamored with, or, less frequently, enamored by. The standard adjective is enamored (British English: enamoured).

Examples:

- The speaker enamored the crowd with his stories.

- She was enamored of the city after a weekend visit.

- The performance enamored the audience with its grace and energy.

Summary: Enamor covers both the act of inspiring love or admiration and the state of being in love or charmed, with its British variant enamoured and the common adjective enamored. Its use is more literary or formal in contemporary English.