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incantations

noun

plural of incantation
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 incantations Fascinatingly, however, the incantations are neither soothing nor conciliatory. — Eleanor Johnson, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026 The Hoodoo tradition presumes a belief in a supernatural or spirit world that can be called upon for assistance, often through charms and incantations. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Aug. 2026 Halloween Horror Nights fans will encounter demonic forces when Book of the Dead incantations are read aloud inside the newest Evil Dead haunted house coming to Universal Studios Hollywood. — Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 21 July 2026 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, Fortune, 27 Feb. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incantations
  1. spells
  2. invocations
  3. curses
Noun
  • Dull spells and lulls will crop up, building like waves, peaking, crashing, then dissipating.
    — Carlos Valladares, ARTnews.com, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Since then, had loan spells at Stoke City, Birmingham City and Hull.
    — James Pearce, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of spells
Noun
  • Throughout, Lee’s invocations imbue his subjects with an air of divinity.
    — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Their selective invocations of Washington may have obscured his complicity, but some abolitionists truly believed doing so would help bring the horror of American slavery to an end.
    — John Garrison Marks, The Atlantic, 25 July 2026
Definition of invocations
Noun
  • Vieira said the show offers another opportunity for people to discover Rockport beyond the fictional curses portrayed in the series.
    — Aaron Parseghian, CBS News, 15 Sep. 2026
  • But repression isn’t a good plan when generations-long curses run in the bloodline, because Sally’s daughter Kylie (Joey King), now a college student, has gone and fallen in love behind her mother’s back.
    — Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of curses

Browse Nearby Words

incantation
incantations
incapability
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Cite this Entry

“Incantations.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incantations. Accessed 27 Sep. 2026.

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