exorcise
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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
- exorcisement noun
- exorciser noun
- unexorcised adjective
Etymology
Origin of exorcise
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Late Latin exorcizāre, from Greek exorkízein, equivalent to ex- “out of, from” ( ex- 3 + (h)orkízein “to cause (someone) to swear an oath”
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.
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
"We start in that world where we're shackled, and then we exorcise it," Taylor explains.
From BBC • Apr. 18, 2025
Both teams can exorcise the 2017 demons, then give us the series we were deprived of in 2017.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 25, 2024
And he clenched his fists and began to plead the blood, to exorcise the hosts of Hell, but even this motion was like another motion, and at length he fell on his knees to pray.
From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin
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.
