séance

noun

sé·​ance ˈsā-ˌän(t)s How to pronounce séance (audio)
-ˌäⁿs
sā-ˈän(t)s
-ˈäⁿs
1
2
: a spiritualist meeting to receive spirit communications

Examples of séance 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.
Toombs is best known today as the face of fortune teller Madame Leota inside the crystal ball in the Haunted Mansion’s seance circle at Disneyland. Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 23 Apr. 2026 During a post-show seance in Dublin, a fan (FKA Twigs) conjures up a spirit; the presence soon uses a stigmata sliced into Mary’s palm as an entrance to her soul. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 14 Apr. 2026 Every song becomes a seance, every bump in the night turns into evidence of a specter. David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 14 Apr. 2026 This was a time of communal seances, Ouija boards, and ghostly communication—ghost writing, in the literal sense. Literary Hub, 4 Mar. 2026 His new album Paleo Sol is like a seance with the elements. Daniel Bromfield, Pitchfork, 11 Feb. 2026 The store offered tarot readings and seances, as well as a room full of oddities, including a coffin, taxidermies and an electroshock therapy kit, according to The Salisbury Post. Charlotte Observer, 4 Feb. 2026 But then, El stops Henry's seance at just the right moment. Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 31 Dec. 2025 Set in 1924, two years after Sarah Winchester’s death, this immersive experience has a masquerade ball, performers, and plenty of spooky mysteries — just head to the seance room. John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2025

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of séance was in 1803

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Séance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/s%C3%A9ance. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.

Kids Definition

séance

noun
sé·​ance ˈsā-ˌän(t)s How to pronounce séance (audio)
1
: a meeting for discussion : session
2
: a meeting to receive the communications of spirits
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