Incantation

//ɪnkænˈteɪʃən// noun, slang

noun, slang ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The act or process of using formulas and/or usually rhyming words, sung or spoken, with occult ceremonies, for the purpose of raising spirits, producing enchantment, or creating other magical results.

    "new years eve we dropped mushrooms / and danced around the house / making music with everything that we found / incantation replaced resolution"

  2. 2
    a ritual recitation of words or sounds believed to have a magical effect wordnet
  3. 3
    A formula of words used as above.

    "My ancient Incantations are too weake, / And hell too ſtrong for me to buckle with:"

  4. 4
    Any esoteric command or procedure. slang

    "The appropriate incantation of route is shown below; the gw keyword tells it that the next argument denotes a gateway."

Synonyms

All synonyms
abracadabrabewitchmentcantationcharmcharmconjuration

Example

More examples

"Tom uttered a Latin incantation and was suddenly in Boston."

Etymology

From Middle English incantacioun, from Old French incantation, from Latin incantatio. More at enchant.

Related phrases

witches singing

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.