séance

noun

sé·​ance ˈsā-ˌän(t)s 

-ˌäⁿs, 

sā-ˈän(t)s, 

-ˈäⁿs

1

: session, sitting

2

: a spiritualist meeting to receive spirit communications

Examples of séance in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Real Legend First lady Mary Todd Lincoln held seances at the White House. — Sophia Solano, Washington Post, 31 Oct. 2026

Savage broke out in 2020 with his pandemic seance shocker, Host, which was almost entirely filmed via Zoom. — Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 28 Oct. 2026

If that doesn’t knock your socks off, try the Spooky Organ Concert, Horror Shorts Movie Night, Zombie Bike Ride, or an evening of seances. — Michelle Mastro, Midwest Living, 9 Oct. 2026

The Shock Docs special concludes with a dramatic seance held at The Lizzie Borden House. — Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 23 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

French, from Middle French, from seoir to sit, assemble, from Old French, from Latin sedēre — more at sit

First Known Use

1803, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

séance

noun

sé·​ance ˈsā-ˌän(t)s 

1

: a meeting for discussion : session

2

: a meeting to receive the communications of spirits