as in sorcery
the power to control natural forces through supernatural means
in the conjuring of the souls of the dead, necromancy seemed to offer human beings a means of exerting some control over an uncertain world
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Recent Examples of necromancy
Here’s Page’s step-by-step guide on how to go about medieval necromancy in a productive, yet safe, manner.
—
Jonny Thomson, Big Think, 18 Dec. 2024
The end of an era Happily for sacrificial bats and young cousins all over Europe, necromancy was waning by the end of the 18th century.
—Jonny Thomson, Big Think, 18 Dec. 2024
The history of necromancy is an interesting window into our past more broadly.
—Jonny Thomson, Big Think, 18 Dec. 2024
The act was short and provided few details about what constituted witchcraft, sorcery or necromancy.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Mar. 2025
After her death, Morgan even resorted to necromancy, reviving the People’s Princess (now embodied by Elizabeth Debicki) as an apparition who soothes a disconsolate Charles (Dominic West) and makes peace with a grieving but resentful Elizabeth (Imelda Staunton).
—Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 14 Dec. 2023
Part of my aversion arises from my own hidebound premodern Calvinist outlook, in which death is no laughing matter and necromancy is forbidden by God (see Deuteronomy 18:9-13).
—Barton Swaim, WSJ, 26 Oct. 2023
Season 8, which arrived on BritBox last month, includes a spooky Christmas tale, a bright spin on necromancy, a game show that doesn’t go according to plan (hosted by Lee Mack) and an off-kilter love story.
—Margaret Lyons, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2023
The necromancy reference and Gideon's own interest in cloning would seem to be connections to the cloning project that led to Snoke and the eventual reveal of the cloned Emperor Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 12 Apr. 2023
Jonny Thomson, Big Think, 18 Dec. 2024
The end of an era Happily for sacrificial bats and young cousins all over Europe, necromancy was waning by the end of the 18th century.
—Jonny Thomson, Big Think, 18 Dec. 2024
The history of necromancy is an interesting window into our past more broadly.
—Jonny Thomson, Big Think, 18 Dec. 2024
The act was short and provided few details about what constituted witchcraft, sorcery or necromancy.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Mar. 2025
After her death, Morgan even resorted to necromancy, reviving the People’s Princess (now embodied by Elizabeth Debicki) as an apparition who soothes a disconsolate Charles (Dominic West) and makes peace with a grieving but resentful Elizabeth (Imelda Staunton).
—Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 14 Dec. 2023
Part of my aversion arises from my own hidebound premodern Calvinist outlook, in which death is no laughing matter and necromancy is forbidden by God (see Deuteronomy 18:9-13).
—Barton Swaim, WSJ, 26 Oct. 2023
Season 8, which arrived on BritBox last month, includes a spooky Christmas tale, a bright spin on necromancy, a game show that doesn’t go according to plan (hosted by Lee Mack) and an off-kilter love story.
—Margaret Lyons, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2023
The necromancy reference and Gideon's own interest in cloning would seem to be connections to the cloning project that led to Snoke and the eventual reveal of the cloned Emperor Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 12 Apr. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for necromancy
Noun
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His Game 2 first half was evidence that his sorcery is still capable of outpacing Father Time.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
21 Apr. 2025
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But the complexity remains transfixing, even after Errico quits the band and Stone pours his sorcery into the drum machine, a development that the film’s expert-musicians agree sets his music down a wide Yellow Brick Road.—
Wesley Morris,
New York Times,
13 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Rotoscope animation sets the stage for this wild 17th century look at a woman accused of witchcraft whose trial reveals the presence of a werewolf in a deeply religious Livonian community’s midst.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
16 Apr. 2025
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Rotoscope animation sets the stage for this wild 17th century look at a woman accused of witchcraft whose trial reveals the presence of a werewolf in a deeply religious Livonian community’s midst.—
Katcy Stephan,
Variety,
16 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Her meticulous research and historical erudition are legendary, and her belief in the magic of fashion is unwavering.—
Laird Borrelli-Persson,
Vogue,
30 Apr. 2025
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Of course, the magic of The Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage extends well beyond the resort’s limits.—
Ashlee Marie Preston,
Forbes.com,
29 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Necromancy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/necromancy. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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