as in witch
someone who is believed in some cultures to be able to use magic to cure people who are sick, to control future events, etc.
went to the shaman for a remedy
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Recent Examples of shaman
By 1901, just seventeen years after contact with the outside world, shamans were cutting their hair, getting baptized, and taking Danish Christian names.
—
Ben Taub, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
Season 1 draws from Hillerman’s novel Listening Woman about two people who are murdered in front of a blind shaman.
—Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025
This horror blockbuster centers on a shaman who exhumes a grave in the hope of breaking a wealthy family's ancestral curse.
—Katie Rife, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Oct. 2025
Their society was hierarchical, with those below the caciques known as the nitaínos (elites), behiques (perhaps shamans), and the naborías (usually servants and commoners).
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shaman
Ben Taub, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
Season 1 draws from Hillerman’s novel Listening Woman about two people who are murdered in front of a blind shaman.
—Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025
This horror blockbuster centers on a shaman who exhumes a grave in the hope of breaking a wealthy family's ancestral curse.
—Katie Rife, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Oct. 2025
Their society was hierarchical, with those below the caciques known as the nitaínos (elites), behiques (perhaps shamans), and the naborías (usually servants and commoners).
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shaman
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shaman
Noun
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Which might explain why McGlinchey is walking straight into the witch’s armpit with a smile on his face.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
23 Jan. 2026
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The grassroots campaign to get Madigan an Oscar nomination for her delicious portrayal of a youth-hungry witch proved successful.—
Savannah Salazar,
Vulture,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
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That group did just that Saturday against Allen, one of the game’s great players and great late-game magicians, and did it in a style that Payton had been begging for for weeks.—
Parker Gabriel,
Denver Post,
18 Jan. 2026
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The show helped bring exposure to comedians like Melissa Villaseñor, dance groups like Jabbawockeez, and any number of musicians, magicians, and niche performance acts.—
Chris Snellgrove,
Entertainment Weekly,
17 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Don’t look too closely behind the curtain because the wizard isn’t a wizard at all.—
Gladys Louise Tyler,
Forbes.com,
24 Jan. 2026
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Its lead character is Harry Dresden, a professional wizard operating out of the city of Chicago in a world where ghouls, ghosts, werewolves and vampires exist in the shadows of modern society.—
Erik Pedersen,
Oc Register,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The fantasy series follows the elf mage Frieren, who was part of a band of heroes recognized for defeating the Demon King.—
Christopher Rudolph,
PEOPLE,
16 Jan. 2026
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Interspersed throughout the main storyline, sequences depict how Trent Ikithon (Mark Strong) recruited the promising fire mage to join his magic academy, submit to painful experimentations to enhance his power, and eventually groomed him to become a Volstrucker assassin to hunt down dissidents.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Set in the Forgotten Realms, the film follows Edgin (Chris Pine) and Holga (Michelle Rodriguez), a pair of thieves who band together with a budding sorcerer (Justice Smith) and a druid (Sophia Lillis) to find a magic relic to help clear Edgin's name and reunite him with his daughter.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Jan. 2026
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Speculative Fiction Rooted in Personal Cost Hebert’s Daniel Ward is a centuries-old, powerful sorcerer who keeps his true identity and magical abilities a secret.—
Connie Etemadi,
USA Today,
19 Jan. 2026
Noun
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His warlock power is immense and intense.—
Lisa Stardust,
PEOPLE,
12 Jan. 2026
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He was raised Christian, converted to Judaism in his mid-30s, and later became an honorary warlock in the Church of Satan.—
Questlove,
The Atlantic,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The regulars fired at them with a booming 12-pounder that made the American boys lift their knees like old hags, trip and founder as tentacles of water dragged them under.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Jan. 2026
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Is there a more ostentatious fat hag in America than Meghan McCain?—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
9 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shaman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shaman. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
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