Meanings
plural exorcisms
- countableuncountableThe ritual act of driving out evil spirits from persons, places or things that are possessed by them.
Master Hume, we are therefore prouided: / will her Ladyship behold and heare our Exorcismes?
1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]2 more examples
But in this part I am going to mention, it lay chiefly in the people deceived, or equally in both; and this was in wearing charms, philtres, exorcisms, amulets, and I know not what preparations, to fortify the body with them against the plague; as if the plague was not the hand of God, but a kind of possession of an evil spirit, and that it was to be kept off with crossings, signs of the zodiac, papers tied up with so many knots, […].
1722 March, H[enry] F[oe] [pseudonym; Daniel Defoe], A Journal of the Plague Year: […], London: […] E[lizabeth] Nutt […]; J. Roberts […]; A. Dodd […]; and J. Graves […], →OCLCThe imputed virtue of folios full of knockdown arguments is supposed to reside in them, just as some of the majesty of the British Empire dwells in the constable’s truncheon. They are used in pure superstition, as old clodhoppers spoil Latin by way of an exorcism.
1874–1881, Robert Louis Stevenson, Virginibus Puerisque and Other Papers, London: C[harles] Kegan Paul & Co., […], published 1881, →OCLC
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekἐξορκίζω“to ward off, to charge under oath, adjure”
- Late Latinexorcizō
- Old Frenchexorciser
- Englishexorcism
From Old French exorciser, from Late Latin exorcizō, from Ancient Greek ἐξορκίζω (exorkízō, “to ward off, to charge under oath, adjure”), from ἐξ (ex) + ὅρκος (hórkos).
More words from Old French, Late Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic رُقْيَة
- رُقْيَة (ruqya)ritual driving out of evil spirits
Catalan exorcisme
- exorcismeritual driving out of evil spirits
Chinese Mandarin 驅魔 /驱魔, 破魔
- 驅魔 /驱魔 (qūmó)ritual driving out of evil spirits
- 破魔 (pòmó)ritual driving out of evil spirits
- 驅邪 /驱邪 (qūxié)ritual driving out of evil spirits
Czech exorcismus
- exorcismusritual driving out of evil spirits
Danish eksorcisme
- eksorcismeritual driving out of evil spirits
Dutch exorcisme, uitdrijving
- exorcismeritual driving out of evil spirits
- uitdrijvingritual driving out of evil spirits
Esperanto ekzorco
- ekzorcoritual driving out of evil spirits
Finnish manaus, henkien poismanaus
- manausritual driving out of evil spirits
- henkien poismanausritual driving out of evil spirits
- eksorkismiritual driving out of evil spirits
French exorcisme
- exorcismeritual driving out of evil spirits
German Exorzismus, Teufelsaustreibung
- Exorzismusritual driving out of evil spirits
- Teufelsaustreibungritual driving out of evil spirits
- Teufelsbeschwörungritual driving out of evil spirits
- Geisteraustreibungritual driving out of evil spirits
Greek εξορκισμός
- εξορκισμός (exorkismós)ritual driving out of evil spirits
Hebrew גירוש שדים
- גירוש שדיםritual driving out of evil spirits
Hindi हाज़िरात, अभिचार
- हाज़िरात (hāzirāt)ritual driving out of evil spirits
- अभिचार (abhicār)ritual driving out of evil spirits
- दावत (dāvat)ritual driving out of evil spirits
- भूतापसारण (bhūtāpsāraṇ)ritual driving out of evil spirits
- भूतशुद्धि (bhūtśuddhi)ritual driving out of evil spirits
- झाड़-फूँक (jhāṛ-phū̃k)ritual driving out of evil spirits
- पिशाचनाशन (piśācnāśan)ritual driving out of evil spirits
- ओझाई (ojhāī)ritual driving out of evil spirits
- झाड़ (jhāṛ)ritual driving out of evil spirits
- झाड़ा (jhāṛā)ritual driving out of evil spirits
- सोखाई (sokhāī)ritual driving out of evil spirits
- ओझैती (ojhaitī)ritual driving out of evil spirits
Hungarian démonűzés
- démonűzésritual driving out of evil spirits
Indonesian rukiah, sempulian
- rukiahritual driving out of evil spirits
- sempulianritual driving out of evil spirits
- usir gaibritual driving out of evil spirits
- eksorsismeritual driving out of evil spirits
- pengusiran setanritual driving out of evil spirits
Italian esorcismo
- esorcismoritual driving out of evil spirits
Japanese 破魔, 祓魔
- 破魔 (hama)ritual driving out of evil spirits
- 祓魔 (futsuma)ritual driving out of evil spirits
- 悪魔払いritual driving out of evil spirits
- エクソシズム (ekusoshizumu)ritual driving out of evil spirits
Korean 굿, 구마
- 굿 (gut)ritual driving out of evil spirits
- 구마 (guma)ritual driving out of evil spirits
Latin adiuratio, exorcismus
- adiuratioritual driving out of evil spirits
- exorcismusritual driving out of evil spirits
Lithuanian egzorcizmas
- egzorcizmasritual driving out of evil spirits
Norwegian eksorsisme
- eksorsismeritual driving out of evil spirits
Polish egzorcyzm, egzorcyzmowanie
- egzorcyzmritual driving out of evil spirits
- egzorcyzmowanieritual driving out of evil spirits
Portuguese exorcismo
- exorcismoritual driving out of evil spirits
Romanian exorcism
- exorcismritual driving out of evil spirits
Russian экзорци́зм, изгна́ние нечи́стой си́лы
- экзорци́зм (ekzorcízm)ritual driving out of evil spirits
- изгна́ние нечи́стой си́лы (izgnánije nečístoj síly)ritual driving out of evil spirits
Spanish exorcismo
- exorcismoritual driving out of evil spirits
Swedish exorcism, andeutdrivning
- exorcismritual driving out of evil spirits
- andeutdrivningritual driving out of evil spirits
Turkish egzorsizm
- egzorsizmritual driving out of evil spirits
Ukrainian екзорци́зм
- екзорци́зм (ekzorcýzm)ritual driving out of evil spirits
Yiddish באַשווערונג, השבעה
- באַשווערונג (bashverung)ritual driving out of evil spirits
- השבעה (hashboe)ritual driving out of evil spirits
Cite this entry
exorcism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/exorcism
“exorcism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/exorcism. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “exorcism,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/exorcism.
Source: exorcism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.