sorcery

[sawr-suh-ree]

See more synonyms for sorcery on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural sor·cer·ies.

the art, practices, or spells of a person who is supposed to exercise supernatural powers through the aid of evil spirits; black magic; witchery.

Origin of sorcery

1250–1300; Middle English sorcerie < Medieval Latin sorceria. See sorcerer, -y³

Synonyms

See more synonyms for sorcery on Thesaurus.com

enchantment. See magic.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for sorcery

Contemporary Examples

Saudi Arabia has recently beheaded women for “sorcery” but has avoided apostasy trials involving its few Christian converts.
In Sudan a Pregnant Woman May Be Hanged for Marrying a Christian
Nina Shea
May 17, 2014
For foreign household workers in Saudi Arabia, most of them women, sorcery charges are more common than you might think.
Will Saudi Arabia Execute Guest Workers for 'Witchcraft'?
Michael Schulson
March 29, 2014
Saudi citizens, too, have been arraigned, and executed, for sorcery.
Will Saudi Arabia Execute Guest Workers for 'Witchcraft'?
Michael Schulson
March 29, 2014

Historical Examples

Sorcery reads backwards—and I saw him so read from that scroll of his.
The Armourer's Prentices
Charlotte M. Yonge
Witchcraft and sorcery he called it, and in Zuñi to be accused of witchcraft is death.
The Trail Book
Mary Austin
But they, deaf alike to the song and the sorcery, rowed harder than ever.
Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew
Josephine Preston Peabody
He had acquired the art of sorcery through the cultivation of magic.
The Chinese Fairy Book
Various
The history of psychiatry and sorcery proves that we are not exaggerating.
The Sexual Question
August Forel

British Dictionary definitions for sorcery

sorcery

noun plural -ceries

the art, practices, or spells of magic, esp black magic, by which it is sought to harness occult forces or evil spirits in order to produce preternatural effects in the world

Derived Formssorcerous, adjective

Word Origin

C13: from Old French sorcerie, from sorcier sorcerer

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for sorcery

n.

c.1300, from Old French sorcerie, from sorcier "sorcerer, wizard," from Medieval Latin sortiarius "teller of fortunes by lot; sorcerer," literally "one who influences fate or fortune," from Latin sors (genitive sortis) "lot, fate, fortune" (see sort (n.)).

sorcery

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}sorcery

Synonyms

Examples from the Web for sorcery

Contemporary Examples

Saudi Arabia has recently beheaded women for “sorcery” but has avoided apostasy trials involving its few Christian converts.

For foreign household workers in Saudi Arabia, most of them women, sorcery charges are more common than you might think.

Saudi citizens, too, have been arraigned, and executed, for sorcery.

Historical Examples

Sorcery reads backwards—and I saw him so read from that scroll of his.

Witchcraft and sorcery he called it, and in Zuñi to be accused of witchcraft is death.

But they, deaf alike to the song and the sorcery, rowed harder than ever.

He had acquired the art of sorcery through the cultivation of magic.

The history of psychiatry and sorcery proves that we are not exaggerating.

sorcery

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for sorcery

n.

Origin of sorcery