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

Nauset enters the winter looking to exorcise its title game demons. —Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 22 Dec. 2024

Buffalo’s offense has been highly effective against Kansas City in recent years, but beating the Chiefs on the road in the postseason would require exorcising some past demons. —Andrew Greif, NBC News, 10 Dec. 2024

Coppell can recall the club’s chaplain being asked, a decade on, to exorcise the stadium. —Daniel Taylor, The Athletic, 28 Aug. 2024

The intrigue: For OSU head coach Ryan Day, this matchup is an opportunity to exorcise some demons. —Andrew King, Axios, 27 Nov. 2024

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