US /ˈɛk.sɔɹˌsɪ.zəm/ UK /ˈɛk.sɔː.sɪ.zəm/
noun Freq #15549

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    A ritual performed to drive out an evil spirit from a person, place, or thing.

    The priest was called in to perform an exorcism on the haunted house.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · a ritual performed to drive... dispossession
Word family
Forms exorcisms

Etymology

From Old French exorciser, from Late Latin exorcizō, from Ancient Greek ἐξορκίζω (exorkízō, “to ward off, to charge under oath, adjure”), from ἐξ (ex) + ὅρκος (hórkos).

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