Circe

American  

[sur-see] / ˈsɜr si /

noun

1. Also called Aeaea.  Classical Mythology. Also the enchantress represented by Homer as turning the companions of Odysseus into swine by means of a magic drink.

2. a dangerously or irresistibly fascinating woman.

---

Circe British  

/ ˈsɜːsɪ, sɜːˈsɪən /

noun

1. Greek myth an enchantress who detained Odysseus on her island and turned his men into swine

---

Circe Cultural  

1. In classical mythology, a powerful sorceress who turned people into swine. On the way home from Troy, the crew of Odysseus fell prey to her spells.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Circaean
  adjective
• Circean
  adjective

Example Sentences

Also in the field of women’s monstrosity, there’s Madeline Miller’s Circe and other contemporary feminist retellings, fiction that rehabilitates female villains of legend and literature, from Lady Macbeth to Baba Yaga to Japanese yokai.

From Slate • Oct. 28, 2024

The pattern across the jersey is inspired by a fifth-century BC vase attributed to Persephone, which depicts Ulysses and the sorceress Circe in Homer's Odyssey.

From BBC • Jul. 23, 2024

She now keeps Circe on a shorter leash, mindful of where she pokes her nose.

From Washington Times • May 2, 2023

In Miller’s accounting of Circe, one of the witches encountered by Odysseus on his long journey home, readers get to know her in her youth — child of the sun god, Helios.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 28, 2021

She popped a lemon chewable in her mouth just as the door flew open and Circe came back in, flanked by two of her business-suited attendants.

From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan