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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Recent Examples of hocus-pocus
In both Joss Whedon's theatrical version and Zack Snyder's longer cut, Clark Kent is resurrected by some cosmic hocus-pocus housed in an alien Mother Box.
—
Richard Edwards, Space.com, 10 July 2025
That's essentially what predictive AI does, minus the mystical hocus-pocus.
—Bernard Marr, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024
So the hocus-pocus of GPT halting on my name is a rare but conspicuous leaf on a much larger tree of model control.
—Jonathan L. Zittrain, The Atlantic, 17 Dec. 2024
One of the important things Conclave does is to slowly peel back archaic layers to reveal what all the hocus-pocus represents in this day and age.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2024
That's essentially what predictive AI does, minus the mystical hocus-pocus.
—Bernard Marr, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024
In the years since bitcoin was introduced, digital payment systems that skip the hocus-pocus, like Venmo and Apple Pay, have become ubiquitous.
—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
Richard Edwards, Space.com, 10 July 2025
That's essentially what predictive AI does, minus the mystical hocus-pocus.
—Bernard Marr, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024
So the hocus-pocus of GPT halting on my name is a rare but conspicuous leaf on a much larger tree of model control.
—Jonathan L. Zittrain, The Atlantic, 17 Dec. 2024
One of the important things Conclave does is to slowly peel back archaic layers to reveal what all the hocus-pocus represents in this day and age.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2024
That's essentially what predictive AI does, minus the mystical hocus-pocus.
—Bernard Marr, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024
In the years since bitcoin was introduced, digital payment systems that skip the hocus-pocus, like Venmo and Apple Pay, have become ubiquitous.
—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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hocus-pocus
magic
Noun
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Doing a magic show without magic gives Open a way of cutting the Gordian knot of the genre’s self-awareness.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
22 July 2025
-
The Sonos Ace headphone is now a wild $154 off, giving you premium sound, plush comfort, and sleek looks with intuitive controls and speaker-swapping magic.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
21 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hocus-pocus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hocus-pocus. Accessed 1 Aug. 2025.
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