superstitious
Americanadjective
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of the nature of, characterized by, or proceeding from superstition.
superstitious fears.
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pertaining to or connected with superstition.
superstitious legends.
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believing in, full of, or influenced by superstition.
adjective
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disposed to believe in superstition
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of or relating to superstition
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of superstitious
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English supersticious, from Latin superstitiōsus, from superstiti(ō) superstition + -ōsus -ous
Explanation
Superstitious describes a belief in chance or magic. If you're superstitious, you may avoid walking under ladders, spilling salt, or passing black cats — all because you think they will bring you bad luck. Plenty of people don't think of themselves as superstitious, yet they may do things like knock on wood or refuse to open an umbrella indoors. Or they believe their team will win if they wear their lucky socks. These actions are all superstitious, demonstrating a belief based on magic or luck rather than on reason. The Latin word that superstitious comes from is superstitionem, excessive fear of the gods.
Vocabulary lists containing superstitious
The First Rule of Punk
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With the Fire on High
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The View from Saturday
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Superstitious sippers must not break their teapot, pour tea back into the teapot, drink the kettle dry or drink out of the spout, lest they court disaster.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 22, 2023
The new reality series “Very Superstitious With George Lopez” has the veteran comic investigating far-fetched and often foolish beliefs.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2018
Superstitious and unscientific food beliefs—the focus of my book, The Gluten Lie: And Other Myths About What You Eat—feature prominently in the research of Paul Rozin, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania.
From Slate • Apr. 21, 2015
Superstitious Tudor seafarers did not have cats on board ship as they were thought to bring bad luck.
From BBC • May 30, 2013
Superstitious, like many sailors, they were happy to leave him alone.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
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.
