as in spells
a spoken word or set of words believed to have magic power
hovering over the sick child, the witch doctor muttered mysterious incantations
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Recent Examples of incantations
As prospective farmers struggled to clear forests for rice fields in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Malaya, their efforts might have been accompanied by mystical incantations like this invocation against Iblis, the Devil in Islamic tradition.
—
H.m.a. Leow, JSTOR Daily, 24 Apr. 2026
Where ancient midwives had summoned divine assistance by uttering incantations, medieval maternity caregivers called upon saintly mothers by reciting rhythmical charms.
—Literary Hub, 18 Mar. 2026
Justin, the believer, is instantly alarmed by how these eerie tapes escalate from cute banter to ghostly crying babies and backward incantations.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2026
There’s a little bit of mystery with the spirits, incantations and rituals.
—Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 4 Aug. 2025
Magic, the process of changing reality to your will through incantations, is done in this realm.
—Helen A. Berger, The Conversation, 23 Feb. 2023
H.m.a. Leow, JSTOR Daily, 24 Apr. 2026
Where ancient midwives had summoned divine assistance by uttering incantations, medieval maternity caregivers called upon saintly mothers by reciting rhythmical charms.
—Literary Hub, 18 Mar. 2026
Justin, the believer, is instantly alarmed by how these eerie tapes escalate from cute banter to ghostly crying babies and backward incantations.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2026
There’s a little bit of mystery with the spirits, incantations and rituals.
—Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 4 Aug. 2025
Magic, the process of changing reality to your will through incantations, is done in this realm.
—Helen A. Berger, The Conversation, 23 Feb. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incantations
Noun
-
Gabriel came straight into the first team in 2020, but Saliba had to wait, with three loan spells back to France after arriving from Saint-Etienne in 2019.—
Art de Roché,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
-
At the same time, severe OCD, intrusive thoughts and uncontrollable crying spells took a major toll on Cust’s mental health.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
30 May 2026
Noun
-
Yet office work expanded, as recent invocations of the Jevons paradox rightly note.—
Christopher Marquis,
Time,
30 May 2026
-
Such rhetoric echoes in official statements as well — in prayers for destruction, in invocations of divine sanction for war and in casual references to catastrophic violence.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Chants laced with curses echo through Madison Square Garden.—
Albert Samaha,
Washington Post,
3 June 2026
-
This energy can even cause a jinx, curses or even death.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Incantations.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incantations. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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