voodoo

plural voodoos · alternative vodou · alternative vodoun · alternative voudon · alternative voudoun · alternative vodun · alternative voudou · alternative Voodoo

1. countableuncountableAny of a group of related religious practices found chiefly in and around the Caribbean, particularly in Haiti and Louisiana.

   Years later, she had found out about the Voodoo drink - a concoction of rum, gunpowder, grave-dirt and human blood. She almost retched as the taste came back to her mouth.

   1954, Ian Fleming, “Allumeuse”, in Live and Let Die, London: Pan Books, published 1957, page 109

   1 more example

   You cannot understand Haitian Vodou as it is practised today without first knowing something about the culture from which it sprang, and the ways history has shaped religion, and vice versa.

   2007, Kevin Filan, The Haitian Vodou Handbook, Destiny Books, page 13

2. countableuncountableThe spiritual beliefs of the Ewe/Fon of West Africa, practiced chiefly in Benin and in the south of Togo.
3. countablederogatoryuncountableAny sort of magical or irrational approach to a problem.

   I want a real explanation, not this statistical voodoo.

4. countabledateduncountableOne who practices voodoo; a native sorcerer.

   So a reporter of the Boston Herald (U.S.) has 'interviewed' a few local Voodoos. He has seen a dance round a boiling pot, seen some tomfoolery with spiders, and heard a lot of superstitious stories.

   1889, Longman's Magazine, volume 14, page 557

present singular third person voodoos · participle present voodooing · participle past voodooed · past voodooed

1. To bewitch someone or something using voodoo

   He claimed his neighbor had voodooed him.