definition of hypnosis

Hypnosis is a trancelike state that resembles sleep but is induced by a person whose suggestions are readily accepted by the subject.1

Hypnosis is:

• a state in which a person seems to be asleep but can still see, hear, or respond to things said to them. 2
  

• a state of altered consciousness and responds, with certain limitations, to the suggestions of the hypnotist. 2

• 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. 2

Sources:

1 https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hypnosis

2 https://www.collinsdictionary.com/de/worterbuch/englisch/hypnosis