a psychological state induced by (or as if induced by) a magical incantation
"The shaman chanted an ancient spell until the entire village fell into a deep trance, believing their spirits had ascended to the heavens."
a state of mind in which consciousness is fragile and voluntary action is poor or missing; a state resembling deep sleep
"After staring at the flickering candlelight, she entered a trance where her body remained still while her eyes wandered aimlessly."
A dazed or unconscious condition.
"The three-hour bus ride to visit my grandmother felt like a trance because I had nothing interesting to look at."
A tedious journey.
In plain English: A trance is a state where your mind goes blank and you feel completely spaced out, often happening when you are daydreaming or listening to music for too long.
"She nodded off into a deep trance while staring at the flickering candlelight."
To (cause to) be in a trance; to entrance.
"The weary hikers trudged through the mud in a slow trance until they reached the inn."
To walk heavily or with some difficulty; to tramp, to trudge.
In plain English: To trance means to lose your awareness of what is happening around you and focus only on something else, often because you are very tired or deeply absorbed.
"The hypnotist managed to trance her into deep relaxation with just a few words."
Usage: Use the verb "trance" only when referring to causing someone to enter an entranced state, as it is rarely used independently for walking heavily. This meaning overlaps with synonyms like "entrance," whereas words describing heavy walking are typically spelled differently.
The word trance entered Middle English as traunce, originally describing a state of being numb with fear or the passage from life to death. It ultimately derives from the Latin verb trānseō, which means "to cross over."