shaman

noun

sha·​man ˈshä-mən 

ˈshā-

also shə-ˈmän

plural shamans

1

: a priest or priestess who uses magic for the purpose of curing the sick, divining the hidden, and controlling events

2

: one who resembles a shaman

especially : high priest sense 3

shamanic

shə-ˈma-nik 

-ˈmä-

adjective

Examples of shaman in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Researchers believe the structures served as elite burial sites for leaders, priests, or shamans, challenging earlier assumptions that Funnelbeaker societies were strictly egalitarian. —Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 31 Dec. 2025

By 1901, just seventeen years after contact with the outside world, shamans were cutting their hair, getting baptized, and taking Danish Christian names. —Ben Taub, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025

Season 1 draws from Hillerman’s novel Listening Woman about two people who are murdered in front of a blind shaman. —Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025

This horror blockbuster centers on a shaman who exhumes a grave in the hope of breaking a wealthy family's ancestral curse. —Katie Rife, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

ultimately from Evenki (Tungusic language of Siberia) šamān

First Known Use

1698, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for shaman

• cayman
• daimon
• damon
• haman
• layman
• laymen
• maimon
• stamen
• wayman
• yamen
• zaman
• cyclamen