exorcise

verb

ex·​or·​cise ˈek-ˌsȯr-ˌsīz  -sər- 

variants or less commonly exorcize

exorcised also exorcized; exorcising also exorcizing

transitive verb

1

a

: to expel (an evil spirit) by adjuration

b

: to get rid of (something troublesome, menacing, or oppressive)

2

: to free of an evil spirit

exorciser noun

Synonyms

• cashier
• cast (off)
• chuck
• deep-six
• discard
• ditch
• dump
• eighty-six
• 86
• fling (off or away)
• jettison
• junk
• lay by
• lose
• pitch
• reject
• scrap
• shed
• shuck (off)
• slough (off)
• sluff (off)
• throw away
• throw out
• toss
• unload

Examples of exorcise in a Sentence

The movie is about a priest who tries to exorcise demons from a young girl.

please exorcise that offensive word from your vocabulary

Recent Examples on the Web

Off to Buffalo: Will the last demon exorcised from Empower Field please turn out the lights? —Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 5 Jan. 2025

At the 2023 Australian Open, Andreeva, then 16, served notice of her talent for tennis and exorcising demons in a third-round match against Diane Parry of France. —James Hansen, The Athletic, 15 Jan. 2025

With the late 3-pointer and the late free throws in Utah, Jaime Jaquez Jr got to exorcise two demons on short order. —Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 11 Jan. 2025

This could nip some of his front-running and clock-management-botching tendencies, just like Reid had in Philadelphia and exorcised in Kansas City. —Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 10 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French exorciscer, from Late Latin exorcizare, from Greek exorkizein, from ex- + horkizein to bind by oath, adjure, from horkos oath

First Known Use

1539, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

exorcise

verb

ex·​or·​cise ˈek-ˌsȯr-ˌsīz 

-sər-

exorcised; exorcising

: to drive (as an evil spirit) off by calling upon some holy name or by spells