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 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
  • Ampadu signed for Chelsea from Exeter City in 2017, joining at the age of 16, but made only 12 appearances and had mixed experiences during loan spells at Sheffield United, RB Leipzig, Venezia and Spezia.
    — Adam Crafton, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Months of dry weather, a record lack of snow in some areas, hot spells and erratic winds have contributed to wildfires in Utah and other parts of the West.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of spells
Noun
  • 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
  • Why the invocations of Tubman, the readings of Du Bois, the visits from Hamer?
    — Ta-Nehisi Coates, Vanity Fair, 15 June 2026
Definition of invocations
Noun
  • In other cases Hoodoo was used to counter the threat of curses, as in the practice of suspending bottles from a tree to trap any malevolent spirits or witches traveling in spirit form.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The cumulative impression of Alice that the book leaves is of someone moving serenely through life, meeting fond blessings and awful curses both with the same calm equanimity.
    — Ian Penman, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 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 20 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on incantations

Nglish: Translation of incantations for Spanish Speakers

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