incantation

American  

[in-kan-tey-shuhn] / ˌɪn kænˈteɪ ʃən /

noun

• incantations
  plural

1. the chanting or uttering of words purporting to have magical power.

2. the formula employed; a spell or charm.

3. magical ceremonies.

4. magic; sorcery.

   Synonyms:

   wizardry, black magic, witchcraft

5. repetitious wordiness used to conceal a lack of content; obfuscation.

   Her prose too often resorts to incantation.

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incantation British  

/ ˌɪnkænˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. ritual recitation of magic words or sounds

2. the formulaic words or sounds used; a magic spell

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• incantator
  noun
• incantational
  adjective
• incantatory
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• incantations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of incantation

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin incantātiōn- (stem of incantātiō ), equivalent to incantāt ( us ) past participle of incantāre to put a spell on, bewitch ( see enchant, -ate ¹) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

"Double, double toil and trouble / Fire burn, and cauldron bubble." These lines, cackled by the Weird Sisters in Shakespeare's Macbeth, are part of the most famous incantation — or magic spell made of words — in English literature. Incantation shares a Latin source with enchant, both of which are related to chant. An incantation, then, summons a thing or action into being with words that are sung, spoken, or written. Long before it became the catchword of stage magicians, abracadabra was regarded as a powerful incantation capable of warding off serious disease. The phrase hocus pocus may be a corruption of a 17th-century incantation spoken during the Roman Catholic liturgy of the Eucharist, "hoc est corpus meum" ("this is my body").

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

incantation incantations

“Monument Eternal” is a talisman, an incantation that shows the author fearless and confident in her challenge to the distorting influence of race in America that James Weldon Johnson identified.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026

To boost the placement of these companies’ products in AI results, Bailyn’s company plants a sort of magic incantation, known as a “brand authority statement,” on at least 10 websites.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026

Under Egypt’s steady hand, each zip of a record sounded like an incantation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2025

Chef Anne Burrell had a way of turning instruction into incantation.

From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2025

“Take the coaster straight past the gap,” she said aloud, an incantation to keep away any Rusty ghosts.

From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld

This ritual lasted an entire night and involved burning small figures made of wax and clay while an exorcist recited specific incantations.

From Science Daily ● May 5, 2026

The combination of the Welshman’s grim poetics and the singer’s apocalyptic incantations gets the set off to a powerful start and signals something entirely new for the Charli XCX oeuvre.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 17, 2026

And, in a concession to modernity, as well as holding up feathers in a blessing for the King, the elder was reading his incantations from an iPhone.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2025

Huebner busily spun daily spells and incantations, cracking, “I haven’t been this tired since I flew to Transylvania on an economy broom.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2023

"And this change, O most learned Prince, has doubtless been brought to pass by the powerful incantations of those wicked persons who now call themselves kings and queens of Narnia."

From "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis

Related Words

• enchantment
• hymn