fascinated

When someone is fascinated by something or someone, they're extremely interested and caught up in it. It's like being completely absorbed.

Fascinated is one of those words that sounds big, but it's actually pretty simple to use. When you're talking about someone, usually a person, who has this strong interest, you'll often say "They were fascinated by..." followed by what they found so captivating. For example: "As a kid, she was fascinated by dinosaurs" or "He's been fascinated with traveling since he was in college." You can also use it to describe something that's got your attention – like a book, a movie, or even an idea. It might sound like this: "The documentary on climate change really fascinated me" or "This new coffee shop has fascinated the whole neighborhood with its unique atmosphere."

As for other forms of the word, you might also see it as "fascination", which is just a noun version. That would be the thing that's causing the strong interest – like a fascination with music or a fascination with science.