What does "witch" mean?
A person (now usually particularly a woman) who uses magical or similar supernatural powers to influence or predict events.
Witch
/wɪt͡ʃ/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A person (now usually particularly a woman) who uses magical or similar supernatural powers to influence or predict events.
- Grammar: witch is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: enchantress, sorceress, baboon, bag.
- Useful contrasts: bore, disenchant, disengage.
- Usage evidence: The wicked witch cast an evil spell on the man and turned him into an insect.
How to use "witch"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "witch" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "witch" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "witch" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "witch" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "witch" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "enchantress" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "witch", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A person (now usually particularly a woman) who uses magical or similar supernatural powers to influence or predict events.
"He cannot abide the old woman of Brentford; he swears she's a witch."
- 2 A cone of paper which is placed in a vessel of lard or other fat and used as a taper.
- 3 A bitch. euphemistic
- 4 a being (usually female) imagined to have special powers derived from the devil wordnet
- 5 A woman who follows Wicca or similar New Age pagan beliefs.
"To be considered a Witch of a particular tradition you will have to be initiated into that tradition by someone else within that tradition, after following their specific program of study."
Show 12 more definitions
- 6 a female sorcerer or magician wordnet
- 7 An ugly or unpleasant woman. derogatory, figuratively
"I hate that old witch."
- 8 an ugly evil-looking old woman wordnet
- 9 One who exercises more-than-common power of attraction; a charming or bewitching person.
- 10 a female believer in Wicca wordnet
- 11 One given to mischief, especially a woman or child.
- 12 A certain curve of the third order, described by Maria Agnesi under the name versiera.
- 13 A storm petrel.
- 14 Any of a number of flatfish of species:; Glyptocephalus cynoglossus, the witch flounder or Torbay sole, found in the North Atlantic.
- 15 Any of a number of flatfish of species:; Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis (megrim), found in the North Atlantic.
- 16 Any of a number of flatfish of species:; Arnoglossus scapha, found near New Zealand.
- 17 An Indomalayan butterfly, of Araotes lapithis, of the family Lycaenidae.
Verb
- 1 To dowse for water. intransitive
"And I told him there's a vein down there, I know 'caus I used to—uh, I went out here and witched one for this house, at the corner."
- 2 To practise witchcraft. intransitive, obsolete
- 3 cast a spell over someone or something; put a hex on someone or something wordnet
- 4 To bewitch. transitive
"She has witched the Queen's womb long ago, and witched the whole harvest."
Proper Noun
- 1 Acronym of Women's International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, historical
"Late that year the New York Rat covered a feminist demonstration staged by the radical group WITCH (Women’s International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell), whose marchers exorcised money from the financial district and protested exploitive burlesque houses in downtown New York."
Antonyms
Example
"The wicked witch cast an evil spell on the man and turned him into an insect."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "witch"?
Common synonyms include: enchantress, sorceress, baboon, bag, bat, battle-ax.
How do you use "witch" in a sentence?
The wicked witch cast an evil spell on the man and turned him into an insect.
How do you pronounce "witch"?
Pronounced /wɪt͡ʃ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
The noun is from Middle English wicche, from Old English wiċċe (“witch (female), sorceress”) and wiċċa (“witch (male), sorcerer, warlock”), deverbative from wiċċian (“to practice sorcery”), from Proto-Germanic *wikkōną (compare West Frisian wikje, wikke (“to foretell, warn”), German Low German wicken (“to soothsay”), Dutch wikken, wichelen (“to dowse, divine”)), from Proto-Indo-European *wik-néh₂-, derivation of *weyk- (“to consecrate; separate”); akin to Latin victima (“sacrificial victim”), Lithuanian viẽkas (“life-force”), Sanskrit विनक्ति (vinákti, “to set apart, separate out”). Possibly related to wicked; see that entry for more. The verb derives from the noun.
Etymology 2
From Middle English wicchen, from Old English wiċċian, from Proto-Germanic *wikkōną, from Proto-Indo-European *wik-néh₂-, derivation of *weyk-. In the senses arising in Middle English and later probably aphetic from bewitch.
Etymology 3
Compare wick.
Etymology 4
Chosen for its euphemistic rhyme.