What does smitten mean?

Smitten is most popularly used to mean deeply in love.

It can also mean infatuated due to being extremely impressed or fond of someone or something, as in I’m just smitten with your new hairstyle or She’s smitten with her new granddaughter. Another way to say any of these things is in love.

In a more negative sense, smitten can mean severely or intensely affected or afflicted, such as by illness.

All of these senses derive from the fact that smitten is the past participle of the verb smite, which means to strike, damage, injure, attack, or afflict. While smite is often associated with archaic uses (such as its use in the King James Bible to refer to the wrath of God), most senses of the word smitten don’t have this association.

Example: I can tell just by the look in your eyes that you’re smitten. What’s his name?