superstitious
Americanadjective
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of the nature of, characterized by, or proceeding from superstition.
superstitious fears.
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pertaining to or connected with superstition.
superstitious legends.
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believing in, full of, or influenced by superstition.
adjective
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disposed to believe in superstition
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of or relating to superstition
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of superstitious
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English supersticious, from Latin superstitiōsus, from superstiti(ō) superstition + -ōsus -ous
Explanation
Superstitious describes a belief in chance or magic. If you're superstitious, you may avoid walking under ladders, spilling salt, or passing black cats — all because you think they will bring you bad luck. Plenty of people don't think of themselves as superstitious, yet they may do things like knock on wood or refuse to open an umbrella indoors. Or they believe their team will win if they wear their lucky socks. These actions are all superstitious, demonstrating a belief based on magic or luck rather than on reason. The Latin word that superstitious comes from is superstitionem, excessive fear of the gods.
Vocabulary lists containing superstitious
The First Rule of Punk
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With the Fire on High
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The View from Saturday
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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.
But one does not always translate to the other—and tennis players, Mr. Borg tells Ms. Kumar Nair, are superstitious.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
How we adorn ourselves is extremely personal, even a little superstitious.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
“Some of them I don’t want to talk about because I’m actually a little bit superstitious about these things.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Manager Kurt Suzuki is naturally superstitious, and the Pikachu didn’t faze him much.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026
There was one person around who wasn’t superstitious.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
