as in magic
the art or skill of performing tricks or illusions for entertainment
with some well-crafted hocus-pocus, the illusionist made the dove disappear from his hands
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Examples of hocus-pocus in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In the years since bitcoin was introduced, digital payment systems that skip the hocus-pocus, like Venmo and Apple Pay, have become ubiquitous.
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Paul Krugman, The Mercury News, 6 Aug. 2024
There were a lot of hocus-pocus remedies like bee stings — pretty crazy things that were not going to help you.
—Degen Pener, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 May 2023
The regulatory agency posted a public safety notification warning people not to use eye drops with such ingredients—products more akin to hocus-pocus than modern medicine.
—Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 20 Apr. 2023
The occult isn't just a bunch of hocus-pocus to Vanessa Hudgens.
—Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 15 Apr. 2023
Paul Krugman, The Mercury News, 6 Aug. 2024
There were a lot of hocus-pocus remedies like bee stings — pretty crazy things that were not going to help you.
—Degen Pener, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 May 2023
The regulatory agency posted a public safety notification warning people not to use eye drops with such ingredients—products more akin to hocus-pocus than modern medicine.
—Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 20 Apr. 2023
The occult isn't just a bunch of hocus-pocus to Vanessa Hudgens.
—Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 15 Apr. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hocus-pocus.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Hocus-pocus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hocus-pocus. Accessed 12 Oct. 2024.
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