Voodoo

American  

[voo-doo] / ˈvu du /

noun

plural

Voodoos

1. Sometimes Vodoun a fusion of Afro-Caribbean Vodou and folk magic practiced chiefly in Louisiana, deriving ultimately from West African Vodun and containing elements borrowed from the Roman Catholic religion.

2. a person who practices this religion.

3. a fetish or other object of Voodoo worship.

4. a group of magical and ecstatic rites associated with Voodoo.

5. Sometimes Offensive. voodoo. (loosely) black magic; sorcery.

---

adjective

1. of, pertaining to, associated with, or practicing Voodoo.

2. Informal: Sometimes Offensive. voodoo. characterized by deceptively simple, almost as if magical, solutions or ideas.

   voodoo economics.

verb (used with object)

Voodooed, Voodooing

1. to affect by Voodoo magic.

voodoo British  

/ ˈvuːduː /

noun

1. Also called: voodooism.  a religious cult involving witchcraft and communication by trance with ancestors and animistic deities, common in Haiti and other Caribbean islands

2. a person who practises voodoo

3. a charm, spell, or fetish involved in voodoo worship and ritual

---

adjective

1. relating to or associated with voodoo

verb

1. (tr) to affect by or as if by the power of voodoo

voodoo Cultural  

1. A form of animism (see also animism) involving trances and other rituals. Communication with the dead is a principal feature of voodoo. It is most common in the nations of the Caribbean Sea, especially Haiti, where people sometimes mingle voodoo and Christian practices.

---

Sensitive Note

The history of slavery in the Caribbean brought religious practices from enslaved West Africans into contact with the Roman Catholicism in French and Spanish colonies, and resulted in distinct New World religions like Haitian Vodou and Louisiana Voodoo. For some time, the most common name in English for these related religious traditions was Voodoo. Today the capitalized proper noun Voodoo is used only for the religion as practiced in Louisiana. The spelling Voodoo is considered offensive in naming religious practice outside of Louisiana, as in Haiti and Cuba, where the proper names are Vodou and Vodú, respectively. However, as the widely recognized term, Voodoo was also the one appropriated by popular culture to describe a number of practices poorly understood or purposefully exoticized by those outside of the religious community. Spiritual practices involving charmed objects loosely inspired the so-called “voodoo doll,” though no such practice of stabbing an effigy with pins is attested in the practice of Voodoo or Hoodoo. In Vodou, the “zombie” is a living but soulless individual whose free will has been taken by a powerful sorcerer or bocor, not the risen dead monster depicted in films, books, and video games. Ultimately, use of the word voodoo is complicated by widespread familiarity with the appropriated, secular, pop culture mythology of the entertainment industry—a mythology that poorly represents or directly conflicts with the authentic religious and historical core of Voodoo and related spiritual traditions such as Vodun, Vodou, and Hoodoo.

Other Word Forms

• voodooist noun
• voodooistic adjective

Etymology

Origin of Voodoo

An Americanism dating back to 1810–20; from Louisiana French, earlier vandoux, vandoo, from a West African source perhaps akin to Fon vodũ “spirit,” or Ewe vodu “tutelary deity, demon”

Explanation

Voodoo is a set of religious beliefs mainly followed by people in Caribbean countries and the Southern United States. People who practice voodoo believe that death is a transition from the visible to the invisible world. You may see voodoo portrayed on TV and in movies as a scary, violent cult that uses black magic and voodoo dolls to torment people. In reality, voodoo is a varied, community-centered religion with deep African influences, which often incorporates Catholic saint imagery. Voodoo comes from the Louisiana French voudou, ultimately from a West African language.

Example Sentences

"Voodoo", which was released in 2000, was placed at 28 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the greatest albums of all time.

From BBC • Dec. 31, 2025

D'Angelo was an acclaimed R&B singer and won plaudits for albums including his 1995 debut "Brown Sugar" and "Voodoo," released in 2000.

From Barron's • Oct. 14, 2025

He started taking his music seriously in the 1990s, around when he joined Natural Elements, a local underground group that also touted Mr. Voodoo among its members.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 15, 2024

While Benin has many Christians - comprising nearly half the population - Voodoo is embedded in most people’s lives.

From Washington Times • Oct. 29, 2023

When he recovered, however, he went on sampling Haiti—attending Voodoo ceremonies, volunteering to assist doctors at Hopital St. Croix in the town of Leogane, and conversing in Creole with peasant farmers.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

Related Words

• witchcraft