exorcise
Americanverb (used with object)
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exorcises,
present (3rd person singular)
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exorcised,
past participle, past
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exorcising
present participle
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to seek to expel (an evil spirit) by adjuration or religious or solemn ceremonies.
to exorcise a demon.
-
to free (a person, place, etc.) of evil spirits or malignant influences.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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exorcisesimple
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exorcisessimple
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have exorcisedperfect
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has exorcisedperfect
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am exorcisingprogressive
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are exorcisingprogressive
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is exorcisingprogressive
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have been exorcisingperfect progressive
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has been exorcisingperfect progressive
Past
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exorcisedsimple
-
had exorcisedperfect
-
was exorcisingprogressive
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were exorcisingprogressive
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had been exorcisingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of exorcise
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Late Latin exorcizāre, from Greek exorkízein, equivalent to ex- “out of, from” ( see ex- 3 + (h)orkízein “to cause (someone) to swear an oath”
Explanation
To exorcise is to cast out a devil or evil spirit, using prayer and other religious tools. You're probably familiar with the name of the person who does this: an exorcist. Don't try to exorcise a demon yourself. Call an exorcist. One way to remember the word exorcise is that it sounds like "exercise," which means to work out or train your body or mind. Casting out devils is hard work, so be sure to exercise before you exorcise. A boxer doesn't box without exercising first. And an exorcist doesn't exorcise without getting ready first either. The devil is a tough opponent, so you'd better get warmed up before you try to exorcise him from that little girl.
Vocabulary lists containing exorcise
Power Prefix: ex-
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Bless Me, Ultima
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Commonly Confused Words, List 4
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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.
See Examples For:
The modern West tried to exorcise these demons.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 19, 2026
I needed to exorcise this thing so it could join the world!
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2025
To exorcise the ghosts of Paris, they must wait until 2027.
From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2024
With a first-round matchup against the Golden Knights or Kings, Demers said “Edmonton just needs to exorcise those demons.”
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 18, 2024
This, his activity here with animals and animal dealers, seemed the only weak spot in the shroud of depression, a flaw by which he might be able to grab it and exorcise it.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
"She exorcises herself through the use of song, which was really brilliant to do."
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2025
Tucker, the more primal singer of the two, exorcises deeper emotions when she sings lead, as on the eerie and affecting leadoff track “Hell.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 18, 2024
While it never glorifies slavery or secession, it exorcises a spirit of mourning.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2023
In a tearful embrace with De Palma late in the tale, Barrera exorcises Carmen’s pent-up sorrow, convincing us that she is capable of great dramatic nuance, even if the writing doesn’t explore her character’s psychology.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2023
The gifted person subsists upon some other employment, and exorcises gratis.
From Rambles and Recollections of an Indian Official by William Sleeman
"You will see a change in behaviour... a different consciousness. Something else takes over a person," Syquia said, noting he had personally exorcised a demon only a week earlier.
From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026
Now he's got the landmark game on the football calendar - and he's exorcised his VAR demons.
From BBC ● May 10, 2026
But if there were any chance of changing my mind and taking the plunge, watching “Welcome to Derry” has permanently exorcised any phantom longings.
From Salon ● Nov. 9, 2025
What’s odd about Hellebuyck’s latest meltdown is that just a few weeks ago, it appeared as though he’d exorcised his big-game demons.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2025
But the hand of the professional decorator had exorcised whatever ghosts of the French bourgeoisie might still haunt the thick brick walls of the building.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
On Sunday, he played those three holes par, par and birdie, going some distance toward exorcising the demons of 2011.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2026
Wiktor can help some of the locals by exorcising their demons, but he can also summon salutors to help him fight the imperial Russian soldiers who control the city.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 3, 2024
Dauwalter had already returned to win Run Rabbit Run the previous year, finally exorcising the ghost of 2012, but her victory in 2017 is the stuff of absurd legend.
From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2024
In her campaign kickoff speech, Ms. Williamson, 70, made no talk of exorcising the “dark psychic force of the collectivized hatred” in American politics or of calling New Zealand as her first act in office.
From New York Times ● Mar. 4, 2023
They were not arresting a man, they were exorcising fear.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
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.
