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.

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Nearby words

Origin of sorcery

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

SYNONYMS FOR sorcery

enchantment. See magic.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sorcery ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sorcery

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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
Saudi citizens, too, have been arraigned, and executed, for sorcery.
Will Saudi Arabia Execute Guest Workers for 'Witchcraft'?|Michael Schulson|March 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I still felt under the influence of the sorcery that had been practiced upon me.
The Brass Bell|Eugne Sue

There are no lifeless spots in his works; every whim of his takes shape, as if by sorcery, in splendid figures.
The History of Modern Painting, Volume 3 (of 4)|Richard Muther
In the year 1728 a witch-finder discovered that a stout tall woman, suspected of sorcery, did not weigh more than four ounces.
The Mysteries of All Nations|James Grant
At what date the higher cult of sorcery or magic became the drivel known as witchcraft is uncertain.
The Devil in Britain and America|John Ashton
In this late autumnal time there was no view of the Thames gleaming beneath the sorcery of a summer night.
Sinister Street, vol. 1|Compton Mackenzie

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 for sorcery

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

sorcery

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.)).