sorceress
Americannoun
-
sorceresses
plural
Usage
What does sorceress mean? A sorceress is a woman who can perform sorcery—witchcraft or magic. The word sorcerer means the same thing but can be used for any gender, although it typically refers to a man. The word sorcery often (though not always) refers to so-called black magic—magic used for evil purposes. That’s why sorceress and sorcerer are often used to refer to evil characters in works of fiction, especially in the fantasy genre. In contrast, similar words like wizard and magician usually imply that such figures use their powers for good. If not, you’d usually call them an evil wizard or evil magician. Apart from whether or not they use their supernatural powers for good or evil, the words sorcerer and sorceress often imply that such a person is very powerful due to having great skill and command of such powers. For this reason, the word sorceress is sometimes used in a figurative way to refer to a woman who is very skilled at something, as if she has magical abilities, as in Maureen is a sorceress at coding. The word sorcery can be used to refer to such skill. The words wizard and wizardry are used (even more commonly) in the same ways. Example: The sorceress has cast a powerful spell to enchant this land.
Gender
See -ess.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of sorceress
1350–1400; Middle English < Anglo-French sorceresse, equivalent to sorcer ( see sorcerer) + -esse -ess
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Elphaba, in contrast, is a naturally talented sorceress whose green skin led her father to reject her from the moment she was born.
From Salon ● Dec. 2, 2024
The pattern across the jersey is inspired by a fifth-century BC vase attributed to Persephone, which depicts Ulysses and the sorceress Circe in Homer's Odyssey.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2024
But our sorceress has powerful tools of destruction, as well — Medea’s magic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 13, 2023
She became a tattoo artist, and now proudly identifies as a none and a witch; she has leg tattoos of a sorceress and a black cat.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 4, 2023
She’d made the sorceress Pasiphae disappear through an imaginary hole in the floor.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
The author demonstrates that access to the supernatural was a particular source of feminine power, not least for the sorceresses whose rituals made that connection.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
“Wicked” also benefited from mostly positive reviews hyping the performances of its leading sorceresses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 24, 2024
Ralph Lee, a creator of giant crustaceans, lizards, skeletons and sorceresses, as well as one enduring New York tradition, the Village Halloween Parade, died on Friday at his home in Manhattan.
From New York Times ● May 16, 2023
Yennefer, meanwhile, comes to know power of a different kind via the world of magic, chaos, and its political split between male wizards and female sorceresses.
From Salon ● Dec. 21, 2019
The devil, stupid or otherwise, introduces his spook; sorceresses and hags professing magic skill are everywhere.
From Women of the Teutonic Nations Woman: In all ages and in all countries Vol. 8 (of 10) by Hermann Schoenfeld
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
