hocus-pocus
[ hoh-kuhs-poh-kuhs ]
/ ˈhoʊ kəsˈpoʊ kəs /
noun
a meaningless chant or expression used in conjuring or incantation.
a juggler's trick; sleight of hand.
trickery; deception.
unnecessarily mysterious or elaborate activity or talk to cover up a deception, magnify a simple purpose, etc.
verb (used with object), ho·cus-po·cused, ho·cus-po·cus·ing or (especially British) ho·cus-po·cussed, ho·cus-po·cus·sing.
to play tricks on or with.
verb (used without object), ho·cus-po·cused, ho·cus-po·cus·ing or (especially British) ho·cus-po·cussed, ho·cus-po·cus·sing.
to perform tricks; practice trickery or deception.
QUIZZES
CHALLENGE YOURSELF WITH THIS MIDDLE SCHOOL PART OF SPEECH QUIZ!
How well do you know your adjectives from your adverbs? Your preposition from your pronouns? Your interjections from your conjunctions? Let’s put your knowledge of parts of speech to the text!
Note: Many of the following questions will ask you to identify the parts of speech “in order.” That means the first word in all capital letters will correspond to the first option in an answer, and so on.
Question 1 of 10
In order, what parts of speech are the words in all capital letters? Alisa was VERY tired, SO she decided to go to bed.
Origin of hocus-pocus
First recorded in 1615–25; pseudo-Latin rhyming formula used by jugglers and magicians
SYNONYMS FOR hocus-pocus
Words nearby hocus-pocus
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for hocus-pocus
British Dictionary definitions for hocus-pocus
hocus-pocus
/ (ˈhəʊkəsˈpəʊkəs) /
noun
trickery or chicanery
mystifying jargon
an incantation used by conjurors or magicians when performing tricks
conjuring skill or practice
verb -cuses, -cusing, -cused, -cuses, -cussing or -cussed
to deceive or trick (someone)
Word Origin for hocus-pocus
C17: perhaps a dog-Latin formation invented by jugglers
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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