black magic

noun

: magic that is associated with the devil or with evil spirits : evil magic
He wore a special necklace to protect against black magic.

Examples of black magic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The villagers start blaming the recluse ‘witch’ of the village who is known to practice black magic. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 11 Mar. 2026 The other legend concerns a black magic practitioner who fell in love with a princess. — Sophie Friedman, AFAR Media, 22 Oct. 2025 SpellsByMia also recommends steering clear of black magic and scare tactics. — Meredith Wilshere, PEOPLE, 27 Dec. 2025 Jasper took out volume 2 of The Cambridge Ancient History and read out loud to Catherine about black magic and the emerald tablets. — Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for black magic

Word History

First Known Use

1590, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of black magic was in 1590

Rhymes for black magic

See All Rhymes for black magic

Browse Nearby Words

black lye
black magic
black mahogany
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Black magic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/black%20magic. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All