superstition

noun

su·per·sti·tion ˌsü-pər-ˈsti-shən

: a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation

: an irrational abject attitude of mind toward the supernatural, nature, or God resulting from superstition

: a notion maintained despite evidence to the contrary

Examples of superstition in a Sentence

It is a common superstition that a black cat crossing your path is bad luck. tales of superstition, witchcraft, and magic

Recent Examples on the Web The Dodgers might have a new superstition partially to thank. —

Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2024 Looking at Big Tech through this lens reminds me of the superstition that having your photograph taken steals part of your soul. —

Lindsey Witmer Collins, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024 See a fetch in the shadows, one such superstition said, and your life will last only as long as flames in your fireplace. —

Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 19 Mar. 2024 Religiosity and grisly, quasi-pagan superstition co-exist quite easily here. —

Jessica Kiang, Variety, 20 Feb. 2024 At the temples, these scholars observed the moon to better predict eclipses, which were viewed with great superstition. —

Rebecca Boyle, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2024 From these explanations, many myths and superstitions exist. —

Elizabeth Gamillo, Discover Magazine, 28 Mar. 2024 Anything can be considered sensitive: crime, corruption, poverty, history, superstition or simply sadness. —

Li Yuan, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2024 The Super Bowl is looming and superstitions are in high gear — and a certain pop star is finding herself right in the middle of some of them. —

Julia Moore, Peoplemag, 5 Feb. 2024

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

Word History

Etymology

Middle English supersticion, from Anglo-French, from Latin superstition-, superstitio, from superstit-, superstes standing over (as witness or survivor), from super- + stare to stand — more at stand

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler

The first known use of superstition was in the 13th century

See more words from the same century