a meeting in which a spiritualist attempts to communicate with the spirits of the dead.
a session or sitting, as of a class or organization.
a meeting at which spiritualists attempt to receive messages from the spirits of the dead
a meeting of a society
See resume 2.
1795–1805; < French: session, equivalent to sé-, base of seoir to sit 1 (< Latin sedēre ) + -ance -ance
A seance is a kind of magical ritual that involves summoning ghosts or spirits of people who have died. You and your friends might have a seance in an attempt to speak to Amelia Earhart. Someone who believes in spirits that linger even after people's physical bodies are gone may also be enthusiastic about seances. A typical seance involves a group of people sitting around a table, sometimes including a medium who claims an ability to communicate with spirits and relay messages to their loved ones. In French, séance means "a sitting," and it's often simply used to mean "a session," like une séance de cinéma, "a movie session."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Yet another company, Seance AI, offers fictionalized seances for free.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 3, 2024
Can’t wait to watch Channel 5’s Celebrity Seance or something, next week.
From The Guardian • Dec. 7, 2019
The document delves into detail: “the Testimonial Dinner, the Seance, the Gymnasium and the Picnic,” and so on.
From The New Yorker • May 30, 2016
Seance transcriptions, in effect, each one channels another spirit, although most of the voices recur.
From Washington Post • Mar. 30, 2015
Necker, for not being at the Seance, shall be shouted for, carried home in triumph; and must not be dismissed.
From The French Revolution by Carlyle, Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
