occult

oc·cult | \ ə-ˈkəlt

How to pronounce occult (audio)

, ä- \

occulted; occulting; occults

Definition of occult

(Entry 1 of 3)

transitive verb

: to shut off from view or exposure : cover, eclipse the light of a star that was about to be occulted … by Uranus itself— Jonathan Eberhart

occult

oc·cult | \ ə-ˈkəlt

How to pronounce occult (audio)

, ä-; ˈä-ˌkəlt

How to pronounce occult (audio)

\

Definition of occult (Entry 2 of 3)

1 : not revealed : secret deep subterranean occult jealousy— J. C. Powys

2 : not easily apprehended or understood : abstruse, mysterious occult matters like nuclear physics, radiation effects and the designing of rockets— Robert Bendiner

3 : hidden from view : concealed occult underground passages

4 : of or relating to the occult … the occult arts—astrology, palmistry, card reading …— Amy Fine Collins occult practices

5 : not manifest or detectable by clinical methods alone occult carcinoma also : not present in macroscopic amounts occult blood in a stool

occult

\ ə-ˈkəlt

How to pronounce occult (audio)

, ä-; ˈä-ˌkəlt

How to pronounce occult (audio)

\

Definition of occult (Entry 3 of 3)

: matters regarded as involving the action or influence of supernatural or supernormal powers or some secret knowledge of them —used with the

Other Words from occult Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about occult

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Examples of occult in a Sentence

Verb occulted their house from prying eyes by planting large trees around it the actor's private life had long been occulted by a contrived public persona Adjective occult practices such as magic and fortune-telling He began to believe he had occult powers.

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb In July, 2017, the object occulted a star, and telescopes observed its tiny shadow passing across the star. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, "The soon-to-be-famous object at the Solar System’s edge needs a name," 7 Nov. 2017 And for some lucky sky-watchers in eastern Brazil and in central and southern Africa, the moon will occult the star. — National Geographic, "Spring Meteor Shower and 6 More Sky Events in May," 1 May 2017 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun After falling out of favor around the Middle Ages, palmistry underwent a monumental revival in the 19th century as interest in the occult grew. — Aliza Kelly Faragher, Allure, "A Beginner's Guide to Reading Palms," 3 Jan. 2020 Over the next 900 years, these warrior monks would become associated with the Holy Grail, the Freemasons and the occult. — Patrick Masters, Quartz, "The true history of the conspiracy theories about the Knights Templar," 30 Dec. 2019 The Fourth Way drew from, among other things, Zen Buddhism, Sufi Islam, and the occult; followers strove for unceasing self-awareness and self-mastery. — Rachel Monroe, The New Yorker, "How Natural Wine Became a Symbol of Virtuous Consumption," 18 Nov. 2019 Cruel adversary Zahhak, the land’s cannibalistic ruler, has a pact with the occult; thus stakes are of monumental scope. — Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, "Review: Persian mythology comes alive in ambitiously animated ‘The Last Fiction’," 17 Oct. 2019 But all of the props, vintage occult books and divination tools have value, probably for someone on your list. — Trevor Fraser, orlandosentinel.com, "Gift the weird from Prometheus Esoterica," 27 Nov. 2019 Read up on occult literature at Wicked Good Books and stock up on steampunk home decor at Emporium 32. — Nico Amarca, Marie Claire, "How to Spend 24 Hours in Salem, Massachusetts," 21 Oct. 2019 Of course, witchcraft, Wicca, and the occult never really went away. — Wired, "Trump's Presidency Has Spawned a New Generation of Witches," 30 Oct. 2019 Curioporium, a curiosity shop focusing on occult and esoteric items, opened just last year. — Susan Dunne, courant.com, "A early peek at Open Studio Hartford: Meet six of the artists and their artwork," 4 Nov. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'occult.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for occult

Verb

in part back-formation from occultation, in part continuing Middle English occulten "to keep secret, conceal," borrowed from Latin occultāre "to prevent from being seen, conceal, keep secret," frequentative derivative of occulere "to hide from view, conceal" — more at occult entry 2

Adjective

borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French, borrowed from Latin occultus "hidden from sight, secret, esoteric," from past participle of occulere "to hide from view, conceal," from oc-, assimilated variant of ob- ob- + -culere, from a verb base *cel- "hide," going back to Indo-European *ḱel- "cover, conceal" — more at conceal

Noun

noun derivative of occult entry 2

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Learn More about occult

Dictionary Entries near occult

occulting light

Statistics for occult

Cite this Entry

“Occult.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/occult. Accessed 19 January 2020.

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More Definitions for occult

occult

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of occult

: of or relating to supernatural powers or practices

See the full definition for occult in the English Language Learners Dictionary

occult

oc·cult | \ ə-ˈkəlt

, ˈäk-ˌəlt

\

Medical Definition of occult

: not manifest or detectable by clinical methods alone occult carcinoma also : not present in macroscopic amounts occult blood in a stool specimen fecal occult blood testing — compare gross sense 1b

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WORD OF THE DAY

intercalate

to insert between existing elements

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