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• séance
  séance

  noun

  a meeting in which a spiritualist attempts to communicate with the spirits of the dead.
• seance
  seance

  noun

  a meeting at which spiritualists attempt to receive messages from the spirits of the dead

séance

American  

[say-ahns] / ˈseɪ ɑns /

noun

1. a meeting in which a spiritualist attempts to communicate with the spirits of the dead.

2. a session or sitting, as of a class or organization.

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seance British  

/ ˈseɪɑ̃ns, -ɑːns /

noun

1. a meeting at which spiritualists attempt to receive messages from the spirits of the dead

2. a meeting of a society

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Spelling

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Etymology

Origin of séance

1795–1805; < French: session, equivalent to sé-, base of seoir to sit ¹ (< Latin sedēre ) + -ance -ance

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Explanation

A seance is a kind of magical ritual that involves summoning ghosts or spirits of people who have died. You and your friends might have a seance in an attempt to speak to Amelia Earhart. Someone who believes in spirits that linger even after people's physical bodies are gone may also be enthusiastic about seances. A typical seance involves a group of people sitting around a table, sometimes including a medium who claims an ability to communicate with spirits and relay messages to their loved ones. In French, séance means "a sitting," and it's often simply used to mean "a session," like une séance de cinéma, "a movie session."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

séance seance

One such inquiry takes them to the residence of a medium named Doreen Chimes, who invites Rideout to participate in a well-attended séance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

“It’s highly curated,” Smith says of a core difference between a theatrical séance and “Phasmagorica,” as the former will be tailored specifically to guest needs and requests.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2025

The segment covers story themes, character motivations, casting, period costuming, shooting in Venice, the non-rehearsed séance scene and Mr. Branagh’s multifunctional role in the film.

From Washington Times ● Dec. 7, 2023

No, there is no séance with the supernatural nor summoning of spirits, just a jangle of regrets.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 23, 2023

When the spirits wrote messages through Kate, Charles marked the stationery used in the séance, to verify that it hadn’t been switched.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

An hour into “Sinners” comes a risky scene that could have derailed Ryan Coogler’s hit vampire movie: a juke-joint seance that involves a hip-hop DJ, a breakdancer, a Funkadelic-esque guitarist.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 26, 2025

As the graveyard requiem kept escalating in its intensity, I remembered the advice that Clinton gave to Eddie Hazel when he first unleashed that voodoo guitar seance: “Play like your mother just died.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2025

"It definitely took on elements of being like a seance," said Dominik, who spent more than a decade trying to bring the book of the same name by Joyce Carol Oatesby to the screen.

From Reuters ● Sep. 8, 2022

“Even my contractor asked if he could hold a little seance at the property,” he said.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 18, 2022

No one wanted this to be an ordinary seance, meaning one that was contrived by the medium.

From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman

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