shamans

noun

plural of shaman
as in witches
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 shamans That means kicking off with the sacred mountain where shamans perform mudang rituals, the spiritual tradition at the heart of the storyline, and then using that inspiration to step into the soundproof studio to put your vocal chops to the test. — Rachel Chang, Travel + Leisure, 6 Aug. 2026 Ochre figures of hunters, eland, and dancing shamans come into focus. — Sarah Kingdom, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026 Along the way, travelers will meet local shamans, experience traditional llanero (cowboy) culture, and be led by a Mayan spiritual guide and archaeologist. — Laura Dannen Redman, Robb Report, 18 June 2026 The shamans gathered by the sea on Herradura Beach in the Chorrillos district in Lima, Peru's capital, holding up posters of the two candidates. — ABC News, 1 June 2026 That being said, shamans are currently experiencing a moment in Korean pop culture that recontextualizes mu-dang as hip. — 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 The retreats are usually led by facilitators, shamans or therapists. — Ashley J. Dimella, FOXNews.com, 24 Mar. 2026 Researchers believe the structures served as elite burial sites for leaders, priests, or shamans, challenging earlier assumptions that Funnelbeaker societies were strictly egalitarian. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 31 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shamans
  1. witches
  2. magicians
  3. wizards
  4. sorcerers
  5. mages
  6. hags
Noun
  • Some Hoodoo practitioners have begun calling themselves witches, reflecting the increasingly positive reassessment of that term, which historically referred principally to practitioners of occult harming practices.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Aug. 2026
  • But a trio of witches — Evanora (Rachel Weisz), Glinda (Michelle Williams), and Theodora (Mila Kunis) — convince the interloper that Oz may actually be worth fighting for.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of witches
Noun
  • Whether magicians, thieves, or just fed up citizens, somebody has made an entire city’s worth of ALPRs vanish in the night.
    — Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 5 Aug. 2026
  • The celebrated musicians, the eclectic writers, the artist troupes, the lumberjacks, the magicians.
    — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 28 July 2026
Definition of magicians
Noun
  • Players can also customize a walking castle and investigate a mystery involving missing wizards.
    — Matt Gardner, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Maybe the door to the wizards’ lair will open again someday, but a Camp Rock 4 seems more likely for now.
    — Allison McClain Merrill, Parents, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of wizards
Noun
  • The woods could be hiding places of witches and sorcerers, disguised as the old and feeble, but capable of summoning wonder and terrors, charms as well as curses.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 July 2026
  • But that apprehension is directed toward monsters, goddesses, sorcerers, and nymphs.
    — Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 16 July 2026
Definition of sorcerers
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
  • Wizards, or mages (as the group has commonly referred to Eleven), develop their powers using arcane magic to cast powerful spells.
    — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 26 Nov. 2025
Definition of mages
Noun
  • The island village is beset by sea hags, serial killers, creepy clowns and other evils that interfere with Tom’s dream of turning Widow’s Bay into a Martha’s Vineyard-like tourist destination.
    — Alison Herman, Variety, 17 June 2026
  • Martha’s Vineyard also has knife-wielding men in masks and creepy sea hags!
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026
Definition of hags

Browse Nearby Words

shamanists
shamans
shamble
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Cite this Entry

“Shamans.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shamans. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

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