First recorded in 1980–85; from Latin American Spanish, equivalent to santer(o) “person practicing Santería” ( Spanish sant(o) saint + -ero, from Latin -ārius -ary ) + -ía -ia
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Lucumí is all about survival and care,” explained Aisha M. Beliso-De Jesús, a professor of American studies at Princeton University and author of “Electric Santería: Racial and Sexual Assemblages of Transnational Religion.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2025
Depictions of roses, a skull, a goat and a Santería evil eye dance around them, illuminated in sepia spotlights and looking like they could have come straight from a deck of tarot cards.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 6, 2023
Perhaps the brightest of the girls, Squeeze, of Puerto Rican and Haitian background, discusses the fine points of Santería practice with Pipe, who wants the club rituals to open a portal to the supernatural.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2023
Katrin Hansing, an anthropologist in Cuba for City University New York, said Santería endured because of its flexibility, and because of its perceived utility in assuring good health in exchange for offerings.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 9, 2023
The ones who wear white are following the Santería tradition.
From "Pride" by Ibi Zoboi
Beyond Catholicism and Santeria, Cuba has numerous smaller but vibrant faiths.
From Seattle Times ● May 16, 2024
In the hallway, Arnette said the beads reflected his new religion, Santeria, or Way of the Saints.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 8, 2023
Growing up with grandparents who were from Cuba, who practiced Santeria, I think traditions and celebrations have always been interesting to me.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 29, 2022
His art draws on his Afro-Dominican American identity, as well as on a religious upbringing that incorporated Catholicism, Evangelical Christianity, Vodun, Santeria and Afro-Caribbean spiritual practices.
From New York Times ● Sep. 7, 2022
One thing that mingled distinctively in the Caribbean is religion, yielding such African-European hybrids as Vodun, Santeria and Rastafari.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 28, 2022
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.
