Word Confusion: Fascinated By, For, or With

Posted July 31, 2014 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
17 Nov 2022

Pinterest pin for fascinated by, fascination for, fascinated with

I never really thought about how many ways one could be fascinated. Or the differences when combined with these three prepositions: by, for, or with.

In looking for an image for fascinated by, I was thinking of a stalker. Someone who becomes obsessed with someone or something else. Of course, it could also be someone fascinated by a gigantic candy cane or that luscious steak that just went by on a waiter’s arm. I suspect a fascination by is closely associated with a fascination for with the difference being that the former is action-oriented while the latter is subject-oriented. It’s that verb versus noun thing.

Or think of the differences between . . . by and . . . for as specific versus general using that candy cane as an example. He’s fascinated by that candy cane versus he has a fascination for candy canes. I see fascinated for as more general, and in many cases, more esoteric and involved in ideas, philosophies, creativity.

Fascinated with is all about items. Things you can hold or play with or touch.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a profession . . . l frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end. Consider sharing this Word Confusion with friends by tweeting it.

Fascinated By	Fascination For	Fascinated With
Candy Cane is a promotional card for (?) William B Steenberge, Bangor, Maine, by Sunshine Pub. Co., Philadelphia, and is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. — I’d say he’s fascinated by that candy cane.	A Concert by Pianist Josef Hofmann at the Metropolitan Opera House is by an unknown or the name is not provided. It was retouched by Mmxx and is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. — An audience with a fascination for opera.	My Stamp Collection Book Opened by itchys from Japan (Flickr) is under the CC-BY-2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — He’s fascinated with stamps.
Part of Grammar:
Verb + Preposition Third person present verb: fascinates by Past tense or past participle: fascinated by Present participle: fascinating by	Noun Plural: fascinations for Gerund: fascinating for	Verb + Preposition Third person present verb: fascinates with Past tense or past participle: fascinated with Present participle: fascinating with
To attract or interest a person very strongly Draw irresistibly the attention and interest of someone To charm	Something interesting holds a fascination for a person	A person has a fascination with something they are very interested in, if the object of the fascination is something that can be held, handled, or manipulated With implies a deeper interest and be willing to spend time exploring the object of their fascination
Examples:
I’ve always been fascinated by other cultures. The professor was fascinated by the country dances. She was fascinated by this article in Newsweek. He’s fascinated by you. I never ceased to be fascinated by their persistence in eating buttered toast with their gloves on. – W. Somerset Maugham Moon and Sixpence I was fascinated by the thoughts the old man murmured.	Words have always held a fascination for me. The movies have always held a fascination for me.	Her fascination with shells was obsessive. He is fascinated with vintage tools. Tim is fascinated with your question. He is endlessly fascinated with technological advances. He was fascinated with botany.
Derivatives:
Noun: fascinating by		Noun: fascinating with
History of the Word:
Fascinate Late 16th century, in the sense of bewitch, put under a spell from the Latin fascinat- meaning bewitched, from the verb fascinare, from fascinum meaning spell, witchcraft.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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