hocus-pocussed or hocus-pocused; hocus-pocussing or hocus-pocusing
: to play tricks on
Examples of hocus-pocus in a Sentence
Noun
with some well-crafted hocus-pocus, the illusionist made the dove disappear from his hands
Recent Examples on the Web
Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2024
That's essentially what predictive AI does, minus the mystical hocus-pocus.
—Bernard Marr, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024
In the years since bitcoin was introduced, digital payment systems that skip the hocus-pocus, like Venmo and Apple Pay, have become ubiquitous.
—Paul Krugman, The Mercury News, 6 Aug. 2024
There were a lot of hocus-pocus remedies like bee stings — pretty crazy things that were not going to help you.
—Degen Pener, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 May 2023
The regulatory agency posted a public safety notification warning people not to use eye drops with such ingredients—products more akin to hocus-pocus than modern medicine.
—Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 20 Apr. 2023
The occult isn't just a bunch of hocus-pocus to Vanessa Hudgens.
—Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 15 Apr. 2023
Matthew Carey Salyer, Forbes, 17 Feb. 2023
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Noun
One of the important things Conclave does is to slowly peel back archaic layers to reveal what all the hocus-pocus represents in this day and age.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2024
That's essentially what predictive AI does, minus the mystical hocus-pocus.
—Bernard Marr, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024
In the years since bitcoin was introduced, digital payment systems that skip the hocus-pocus, like Venmo and Apple Pay, have become ubiquitous.
—Paul Krugman, The Mercury News, 6 Aug. 2024
There were a lot of hocus-pocus remedies like bee stings — pretty crazy things that were not going to help you.
—Degen Pener, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 May 2023
The regulatory agency posted a public safety notification warning people not to use eye drops with such ingredients—products more akin to hocus-pocus than modern medicine.
—Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 20 Apr. 2023
The occult isn't just a bunch of hocus-pocus to Vanessa Hudgens.
—Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 15 Apr. 2023
Verb
The term, ‘problematic,’ which the WRU uses like part of a ritualistic formulae, is postgraduate humanities burble, the hocus-pocus gesture of a shallow, paraprofessional idiom that avoids candor.
—Matthew Carey Salyer, Forbes, 17 Feb. 2023
Dictionary Entries Near hocus-pocus
Cite this Entry
“Hocus-pocus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hocus-pocus. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.
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