1
as in spell
a spoken word or set of words believed to have magic power
the hope that there was some bewitchment that would turn their jerky son-in-law into a prince
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in witchcraft
the power to control natural forces through supernatural means
while stuck in traffic, I could have used a bit of bewitchment to clear the road of other drivers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of bewitchment
Her work, then, is the work of resuscitation via bewitchment.
—
Ocean Vuong, New Yorker, 19 Apr. 2025
But if there is some kind of bewitchment going on in these encounters, Evelyn is entirely immune.
—Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 19 Jan. 2025
Mercury well aspected on the 6th finds you in accord with others and Venus in Pisces accents playfulness on the 8th and romantic bewitchment on the 15th.
—Katharine Merlin, Town & Country, 1 Feb. 2023
One depends on a set of abstract rules; the other on a sequence of mutual bewitchments.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2019
Here, where both land and life are flat, the privations of rural teenage existence yield wild and elemental bewitchments.
—New York Times, 1 June 2017
The ergot fungus grows on cereals such as rye and produces several neurological symptoms that were historically attributed to bewitchment for many centuries.
—Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 1 Dec. 2015
Ocean Vuong, New Yorker, 19 Apr. 2025
But if there is some kind of bewitchment going on in these encounters, Evelyn is entirely immune.
—Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 19 Jan. 2025
Mercury well aspected on the 6th finds you in accord with others and Venus in Pisces accents playfulness on the 8th and romantic bewitchment on the 15th.
—Katharine Merlin, Town & Country, 1 Feb. 2023
One depends on a set of abstract rules; the other on a sequence of mutual bewitchments.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2019
Here, where both land and life are flat, the privations of rural teenage existence yield wild and elemental bewitchments.
—New York Times, 1 June 2017
The ergot fungus grows on cereals such as rye and produces several neurological symptoms that were historically attributed to bewitchment for many centuries.
—Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 1 Dec. 2015
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bewitchment
Noun
-
Then came a barrage of three hurricanes — Gabrielle, Humberto and Imelda — forming in a two-week-stretch to end September, breaking an unusual quiet spell.—
Chris Dolce,
CNN Money,
6 Oct. 2025
-
Beckham, Joey Barton (Marseille) and Joe Cole (Lille) all had a season in France’s Ligue 1 in the 2010s, with the former ending his playing career at Paris Saint-Germain, after a six-season spell at LA Galaxy in MLS which was interspersed with two loans to Italy’s Milan.—
Liam Tharme,
New York Times,
5 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Thomas Ady, the 17th century author of a skeptical treatise on witchcraft A Candle in the Dark appears to refer to Vincent without naming him directly.—
Scott Neuman,
NPR,
1 Oct. 2025
-
There’s a deep sadness to Mika Moon, a witch who has been raised to hide her magic, and there’s also sadness to witchcraft in general in this world, in which any one with magic is orphaned.—
Audrey Goldberg Ruoff,
PEOPLE,
27 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
After coming back from a 3-0 deficit in the 2004 American League Championship Series, the Red Sox not only broke their World Series curse that year, but went on to defeat the Yankees in the teams' next two postseason battles in 2018 and 2021.—
Jackson Roberts,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
-
The Grudge Karen (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is an American nurse living in Tokyo who is exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse.—
Caitlin White,
Variety,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
In this Fixed sign, Mars’ sorcery is much like a surgeon or a chemist, cutting deep to unveil what’s lingering beneath the surface.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
24 Sep. 2025
-
Sheibani and McCraney know that the way to bring out the sorcery of a play layered in myth and ritual is not to weigh it down.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
There’s a little bit of mystery with the spirits, incantations and rituals.—
Chris Gardner,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Aug. 2025
-
How to turn a human into a statistic, an alien, an enemy combatant–transformations worked not through incantation, but through the movement of paper in government offices.—
Celia Bell
July 22,
Literary Hub,
22 July 2025
Noun
-
Falcons, Texans, Jets, Seahawks Baker Mayfield was nearly flawless, completing 29 of 33 passes for 379 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions as the Bucs’ fourth-quarter magic continued.—
Chad Graff,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
-
That began with his mother, who introduced him to the magic of movement and music—the sounds of her favorite female singers flooding the house.—
Guillermo Perez,
Miami Herald,
7 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bewitchment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bewitchment. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share