shamanism

noun

sha·​man·​ism ˈshä-mə-ˌni-zəm How to pronounce shamanism (audio)
ˈshā-mə-,
 also  shə-ˈmä-
: a religion practiced by indigenous peoples of far northern Europe and Siberia that is characterized by belief in an unseen world of gods, demons, and ancestral spirits responsive only to the shamans
also : any similar religion
shamanist
ˈshä-mə-nist How to pronounce shamanism (audio)
ˈshā-mə-
 also  shə-ˈmä-
noun
shamanistic adjective

Examples of shamanism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The rumors of Choi Soon-sil’s shamanism largely stem from what is known about Choi Tae-min. Katharine H.s. Moon, Foreign Affairs, 1 Dec. 2016 Korean shamanism, like many traditional religions, features a belief in an ongoing relationship between humans and a spirit world inhabited by demons and deceased ancestors. Katharine H.s. Moon, Foreign Affairs, 1 Dec. 2016 The unusually public and hostile feud — which has included allegations of plagiarism, chart rigging and shamanism — has led to hundreds of millions of dollars being wiped off Hybe’s market value. Jin Yu Young, New York Times, 12 May 2024 The Ram Dass lectures took their place in his library of unorthodox thinkers, which had long embraced Ralph Abraham, a professor of mathematics at UC Santa Cruz, who was not only an expert on chaos theory and psychedelic shamanism but had spent a good deal of time living in a cave in the Himalayas. Frederick Kaufman, Harper's Magazine, 22 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for shamanism 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shamanism.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1780, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of shamanism was in 1780

Dictionary Entries Near shamanism

Cite this Entry

“Shamanism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shamanism. Accessed 13 Oct. 2024.

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