a meeting in which a spiritualist attempts to communicate with the spirits of the dead.
a session or sitting, as of a class or organization.
a meeting at which spiritualists attempt to receive messages from the spirits of the dead
a meeting of a society
See resume 2.
1795–1805; < French: session, equivalent to sé-, base of seoir to sit 1 (< Latin sedēre ) + -ance -ance
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."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“The séance comes along, and not only is it a group activity, but it suggests that anyone can communicate with the spirits of the dead,” Morton says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2025
This is a movie about a celebration astride the abyss, and, as it continues, it takes on the eerie power of a séance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 1, 2024
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
She didn’t want to be a financial burden on her sister Kate, yet had to stay away from the séance table.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Shot in only one day and clocking in around eight minutes, the final scene feels as much like a seance or invocation as a piece of drama.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
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
"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
Someone was ringing the church bell and not doing a very good job of it; it clanged unevenly to and fro like a bell at a seance.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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.
