exorcize

exorcise

/ (ˈɛksɔːˌsaɪz) /

verb

(tr) to expel or attempt to expel (one or more evil spirits) from (a person or place believed to be possessed or haunted), by prayers, adjurations, and religious rites

QUIZZES

QUIZ YOURSELF ON THESE WORDS FROM BROWN GIRL DREAMING!

Visualize yourself passing this quiz on words from Jacqueline Woodson’s exquisite verse novel “Brown Girl Dreaming,” and then take the quiz to prove you can do it! (Because you can.)
Question 1 of 10
What does “barren” mean?
a cylindrical wooden container with slightly bulging sides.
Worn down by dullness, tedious repetition.
unproductive; unfruitful
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Derived forms of exorcize

exorcizer or exorciser, nounexorcism, nounexorcist, noun

Word Origin for exorcize

C15: from Late Latin exorcizāre, from Greek exorkizein, from ex- 1 + horkizein to adjure

Words nearby exorcize

exorbitance, exorbitant, exorcise, exorcism, exorcist, exorcize, exordium, exoserosis, exoskeleton, exosmosis, exosphere
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example sentences from the Web for exorcize

  • Only then can the right potion be discovered to exorcize the ghost of Romney for good.

    Ghost of Mitt Romney, Hanging Around Since November, to Appear at CPAC|David Freedlander|February 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST

  • A fear was upon Setne because of Se-Osiris, who answered not, and then he pronounced words that exorcize the ghosts of the dead.

    Myths and Legends of Ancient Egypt|Lewis Spence

  • This is the fifth time to-day that the procession goes its round, that the reliquary is borne on high, to exorcize the calamity.

    Majesty|Louis Couperus

  • "You may exorcize the devils first," the Colonel grimly remarked to the priest, wiping the blood off his sleeves.

    Werwolves|Elliott O'Donnell