hyp·no·sis
(hĭp-nō′sĭs)n.pl.hyp·no·ses(-sēz)
1. An artificially induced altered state of consciousness, characterized by heightened suggestibility and receptivity to direction.
2. Hypnotism.
3. A sleeplike condition.
[New Latin hypnōsis, from Greek hupnoun, to put to sleep; see hypnotic.]
hypnosis
(hɪpˈnəʊsɪs)n,pl-ses(-siːz)
(Psychology) an artificially induced state of relaxation and concentration in which deeper parts of the mind become more accessible: used clinically to reduce reaction to pain, to encourage free association, etc. See also autohypnosis
hyp•no•sis
(hɪpˈnoʊ sɪs)
n., pl. -ses (-sēz).
1. an artificially induced trance state resembling sleep, characterized by heightened susceptibility to suggestion.
2. hypnotism (defs. 1, 2).
[1875–80; hypn (otic) + -osis]
hyp·no·sis
(hĭp-nō′sĭs)
A trance-like state resembling sleep in which a person becomes very responsive to suggestions from another. Hypnosis is brought on by having one fix one’s attention on a particular object, and it can be self-induced through concentration and relaxation.
Hypnosis
See also psychology.
autohypnotism, autohypnosis
1. the process of hypnotizing oneself.
2. the resulting state.
biomagnetism
1. animal magnetism, or the power that enables some people to induce a hypnotic state in others.
2. physical attraction between members of opposite sexes. — biomagnetic, adj.
hypnoanalysis
psychoanalysis of a patiënt while he is under hypnosis. — hypnoanalytic, hypnoanalytical, adj.
hypnogenesis
the process of inducing a state of hypnosis. — hypnogenetic, adj.
hypnotherapy
psychotherapy employing hypnosis. — hypnotherapeutic, adj.
hypnotism
the science that studies hypnosis and the process of inducing a hypnotic state. — hypnotist, n.
Mesmerism
1. hypnosis as induced by Dr. F. A. Mesmer through “animal magnetism,” a 19th-century therapy.
2. hypnotism.
3. a compelling attraction; fascination. — mesmerization, n. — mesmerist, mesmerizer, n.
mesmeromania
an obsession with hypnosis.
monoideism
the focusing of the attention on a single thing, especially as a result of hypnosis.
narcohypnosis
hypnosis with the aid of drugs.
odylism
the theory of od, a hypothetical force formerly held to pervade all nature and to reveal itself in magnetism, mesmerism, chemical action, etc. — odylic, adj.
psycheism
Rare. the state of being in a hypnotic trance.
somnipathy
a state of sleep induced by hypnosis or mesmerism. — somnipathist, n.
hypnosis
Commonly used in hypnotherapy, this is an altered state of consciousness that can be induced by the self or by another person and during which conscious control is relaxed, making the contents of the unconscious more accessible. Hypnosis is from the Greek word “hypnos,” meaning “sleep.”