shaman

noun

Definition of shamannext
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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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 shaman Its story centers on the high school years of shaman duo Hwarim and Bonggil – the characters brought to screen by Kim Go-eun and Lee Do-hyun – charting how the pair first came together. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 29 May 2026 If Wishes Could Kill represents shamanism in a similar way to Exhuma, depicting its shaman characters as low-key warriors capable of great sacrifice and power. — Kayti Burt, Time, 24 Apr. 2026 The only people believed capable of negotiating with the possessing winds, of restoring balance, are shamans of African descent. — Adam Pourahmadi, CNN Money, 22 Apr. 2026 When a 9,000 year-old grave of a shaman was discovered in 1930s Germany, the discovery was quickly politicized to support Nazi propaganda. — Greg Dixon, NPR, 6 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for shaman
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shaman
  1. witch
  2. magician
  3. wizard
  4. mage
  5. sorcerer
  6. warlock
  7. hag
Noun
  • The two sermons explore the Old Testament story of the Witch of Endor, in which King Saul consults a witch before a battle against the Philistines.
    — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 29 July 2026
  • In the 1998 movie, Wood and Alexandra Artrip played Kylie and Antonia Owens, the daughters of Sandra Bullock’s witch character.
    — Daniel D'Addario, Variety, 28 July 2026
Definition of witch
Noun
  • Elizebeth Berkley poses with America’s Got Talent winner and magician Mat Franco at the Linq Hotel after his show in Las Vegas on July 21.
    — Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 29 July 2026
  • The celebrated musicians, the eclectic writers, the artist troupes, the lumberjacks, the magicians.
    — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 28 July 2026
Definition of magician
Noun
  • Food and drink Chefs Loice Acom and Gad Hafashimana are wizards in the Kibale Lodge kitchen.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 July 2026
  • Balloons float above an exploding castle, a giant peeks from behind the bushes and wizards throw flames in the foreground.
    — Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 July 2026
Definition of wizard
Noun
  • This young adult fantasy follows a 16-year-old who discovers a magical attack and realizes this new world of demons and mages has a connection to her mother’s death.
    — Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 2 July 2026
  • Or this one, where the mage Nic Cage totes Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha.
    — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 25 June 2026
Definition of mage
Noun
  • On the wall above the bicycle hung a framed oil painting of the sorcerer Merlin and the knight Lancelot done by the Scotsman James Archer in the late nineteenth century.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 July 2026
  • The sequence featuring Circe, the sorcerer who turns Odysseus’s men into pigs, might be the most disturbing of them all, not so much for what’s shown as for what’s implied, as the men’s body-horror-like transformations occur in tight shots.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 16 July 2026
Definition of sorcerer
Noun
  • Using a warlock’s old spellbook, the aspiring filmmakers conjure a seemingly harmless mutant, who unbeknownst to them, has dastardly designs of world domination.
    — Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 1 July 2026
  • The bony villain is a warlock who stole the throne of Eternia from King Randor and now rules it with a tyrannical fist.
    — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 5 June 2026
Definition of warlock
Noun
  • Pinned beneath her rotting legs in his recliner chair, Loftis narrowly escapes by yanking its lever, catapulting the hag over his head.
    — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 15 July 2026
  • They're also known as hag moth caterpillars.
    — Samantha Johnson, Martha Stewart, 20 June 2026
Definition of hag

Browse Nearby Words

sham
shaman
shamanist
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Cite this Entry

“Shaman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shaman. Accessed 6 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on shaman

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about shaman

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