as in magic
the art or skill of performing tricks or illusions for entertainment with some well-crafted hocus-pocus, the illusionist made the dove disappear from his hands

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Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hocus-pocus 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

Thesaurus Entries Near hocus-pocus

Cite this Entry

“Hocus-pocus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hocus-pocus. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.

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