Black Mass

American  

Or black mass

noun

1. a blasphemous ceremony mocking the Christian Mass, especially one by an alleged worshiper of Satan.

2. a Requiem Mass.

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black mass British  

noun

1. (sometimes capitals) a blasphemous travesty of the Christian Mass, performed by practitioners of black magic

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Etymology

Origin of Black Mass

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

Bulger, the former leader of South Boston's Winter Hill gang, inspired the film Black Mass featuring Johnny Depp, and The Departed, which won the Academy Award for best picture in 2007.

From BBC • Aug. 18, 2022

Cooper, a former actor, directed Jeff Bridges to an Academy Award in "Crazy Heart" and Johnny Depp to one of his best performances in "Black Mass."

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 21, 2017

Despite an Oscar nomination for 2015’s Black Mass, Depp has been plagued by a string of commercial and critical failures, including Mortdecai, Transcendence and The Lone Ranger.

From The Guardian • Feb. 1, 2017

Bulger's rise to power and eventual flight were chronicled in the book "Black Mass," which was adapted into a 2015 film starring Johnny Depp as the mobster.

From Reuters • Jun. 25, 2016

There remained only the Black Mass, to make me thoroughly acquainted with Satanism as it is practised in our day.

From Là-bas by Wallace, Keene