SPELLS Synonyms: 149 Similar and Opposite Words

spells 1 of 2

noun

Definition of spells next

plural of spell

as in incantations

a spoken word or set of words believed to have magic power the witch cast a spell that turned the prince into a toad

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Relevance

as in bouts

a sudden experiencing of a physical or mental disorder a dizzy spell that caused me to fall

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in whiles

an indefinite but usually short period of time come rest a spell

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spells

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of spell

as in possesses

to cast a spell on it was as if he had spelled the public into believing his ridiculous claims

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

blesses

as in means

to communicate or convey (as an idea) to the mind that summertime combination of hot temperatures and equally hot tempers can spell trouble

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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 spells

Noun

Havertz looked utterly forlorn, visibly distressed to pick up yet another injury after a year decimated by two serious surgeries and long spells of rehabilitation. —

Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2026 Coach Ralf Rangnick took over in 2022 after spells with Manchester United, Hoffenheim, Schalke and Stuttgart and Leipzig. —

ABC News, 15 Apr. 2026 Yes, the five first-years are all in the set as two-color uncommons with Prepared spells, serving a similar function to STX’s cycle with Zimone and Quintorius. —

Jennifer Maas, Variety, 9 Apr. 2026 As with its last two installments, FH6 respects Japan’s changing seasons, though their effect on the world is far more profound than in Forza Horizon 5‘s Mexico, which really only alternated between dry and wet spells. —

Adam Ismail, The Drive, 8 Apr. 2026 As humidity increases, patchy fog may also develop overnight and into the early mornings late in the week — another sign that Houston is moving away from spring’s fleeting cool spells and into a more persistently warm seasonal pattern. —

Newsroom Meteorologist, Houston Chronicle, 7 Apr. 2026 Now, though, with the widespread circulation of magic manuals, grimoires, and related compendia—with the recording, on paper, of words, spells, histories, stories—witchcraft has taken an irreversible step into the exoteric realm. —

Kristen Roupenian, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026 Wessels catches gleams to follow not only in magical tales but in twinkling memories, sparkling wordplay, the films of silver-screen star Veronica Lake, and his charm of a daughter, the inspiration of a half-dozen poems that take their titles from spells. —

Literary Hub, 1 Apr. 2026 In the future, the researchers would like to expose the embryos to longer microgravity spells to gain deeper insights into the processes taking place in space-like conditions. —

Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 27 Mar. 2026

Verb

His presence on the roster spells trouble for Patrick Bailey, the two-time reigning NL Gold Glove winner whose highly meager offensive contributions are becoming less tolerable in a struggling lineup of out-makers. —

Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 4 May 2026 And the chart spells it out, admittedly in very tiny print. —

Susan Tompor, USA Today, 26 Apr. 2026 Weeks before Jason gushed over Kylie on Tuesday's panel, the Not Gonna Lie host hilariously revealed that the former NFL star spells one of their daughter's names incorrectly. —

Natasha Dye, PEOPLE, 22 Apr. 2026 The British government spells it out in guidance for staff working with classified documents. —

ABC News, 22 Apr. 2026 The timing of Tim Cook’s departure from Apple spells good things for the company’s fiscal second-quarter earnings report, set to be released on April 30, Wall Street analysts are buzzing. —

Tobias Burns, CNBC, 21 Apr. 2026 Not everyone thinks this spells disaster, however. —

Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Apr. 2026 While the coffee chat isn’t new, Kessler said the return to meeting people and showing other signals spells the cover letter’s inevitable end. —

Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 23 Mar. 2026 Like the midwives’ spells Pliny the Elder described, this ritual harnessed the belief that women’s bodies and voices were powerful and transformative. —

Literary Hub, 18 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for spells

Noun

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, Literary Hub, 18 Mar. 2026