Meanings
nounséance (plural séances)
plural séances · alternative seance
- A ritualistic ceremony where people try to communicate with the spirits of dead people, usually led by a medium and often with the goal of getting the spirits cause physically observable phenomena.
[B]ut only too often séances degenerate into pure sorcery or necromancy, attracting all kinds of undeveloped and earth-bound entities.
1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 231 - datedThe sitting of an assembly to discuss a matter.
verbséance (third-person singular simple present séances, present participle séancing, simple past and past participle séanced)
present singular third person séances · participle present séancing · participle past séanced · past séanced · alternative seance
- To hold a séance (communication with spirits).
Origin
- Frenchséance
- Frenchséance
- Englishséance
Borrowed from French séance (“sitting, session”).
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian сеанс
- сеанс (seans)a ceremony where people try to communicate with the spirits
Chinese 降神会
- 降神会 (jiàngshén huì)a ceremony where people try to communicate with the spirits
Dutch seance
- seancea ceremony where people try to communicate with the spirits
Esperanto spiritista seanco
- spiritista seancoa ceremony where people try to communicate with the spirits
Finnish spiritismi-istunto
- spiritismi-istuntoa ceremony where people try to communicate with the spirits
French séance de spiritisme
- séance de spiritismea ceremony where people try to communicate with the spirits
German Séance
- Séancea ceremony where people try to communicate with the spirits
Hebrew העלאה באוב
- העלאה באובa ceremony where people try to communicate with the spirits
Hindi सेआंस, दावत
- सेआंस (seāns)a ceremony where people try to communicate with the spirits
- दावत (dāvat)a ceremony where people try to communicate with the spirits
- हाज़िरात (hāzirāt)a ceremony where people try to communicate with the spirits
Hungarian szeánsz
- szeánsza ceremony where people try to communicate with the spirits
Icelandic miðilsfundur
- miðilsfundura ceremony where people try to communicate with the spirits
Italian seduta spiritica
- seduta spiriticaa ceremony where people try to communicate with the spirits
Japanese 神降ろし
- 神降ろし (kami oroshi)a ceremony where people try to communicate with the spirits
Māori kauwhata
- kauwhataa ceremony where people try to communicate with the spirits
Norwegian Bokmål seanse
- seansea ceremony where people try to communicate with the spirits
Polish seans
- seansa ceremony where people try to communicate with the spirits
Portuguese sessão espírita
- sessão espíritaa ceremony where people try to communicate with the spirits
Russian сеа́нс, спирити́ческий сеа́нс
- сеа́нс (seáns)a ceremony where people try to communicate with the spirits
- спирити́ческий сеа́нс (spiritíčeskij seáns)a ceremony where people try to communicate with the spirits
Spanish sesión espiritista
- sesión espiritistaa ceremony where people try to communicate with the spirits
Swedish seans
- seansa ceremony where people try to communicate with the spirits
Turkish seans
- seansa ceremony where people try to communicate with the spirits
Yiddish אוב
- אוב (ub)a ceremony where people try to communicate with the spirits
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with séance
FrancedanceadvancechanceenhanceglanceentranceHanslancestanceVanceAfrikaansperchanceranceaskanceprancepsytranceavauncebechancelaunce
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
séance. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/s%C3%A9ance
MLA
“séance.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/s%C3%A9ance. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “séance,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/s%C3%A9ance.
Source: séance on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.