as in spell
a spoken word or set of words believed to have magic power
hovering over the sick child, the witch doctor muttered mysterious incantations
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Recent Examples of incantation
Fiasco is a wonderfully musical ensemble — its members’ braided, rising harmonies at the play’s beginning suggest a ritual incantation, and every so often, characters get brief solos or duets that don’t feel too far removed from the sincere hero ballads of Disney’s golden era.
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Sara Holdren, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2024
Some Trump officials touted these objectives to the point of incantation, but Trump himself rarely mentioned them.
—Frances Z. Brown, Foreign Affairs, 13 Nov. 2019
Neuroscientists have charted the mind’s incantation of words that lights up the temporal lobe, the frontal lobe, ridges in the cerebral cortex, triggering impulses that transform squiggles of ink into letters, letters to words, words to sentences and meaning and comprehension and empathy.
—Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2024
By the final repetition, the decree had morphed into something spooky and Seussian, something in between incantation and nursery rhyme.
—Emily Harnett, Harper's Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for incantation 
Sara Holdren, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2024
Some Trump officials touted these objectives to the point of incantation, but Trump himself rarely mentioned them.
—Frances Z. Brown, Foreign Affairs, 13 Nov. 2019
Neuroscientists have charted the mind’s incantation of words that lights up the temporal lobe, the frontal lobe, ridges in the cerebral cortex, triggering impulses that transform squiggles of ink into letters, letters to words, words to sentences and meaning and comprehension and empathy.
—Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2024
By the final repetition, the decree had morphed into something spooky and Seussian, something in between incantation and nursery rhyme.
—Emily Harnett, Harper's Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for incantation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incantation
Noun
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These trivia quizzes challenge your knowledge of the magical world of spells, creatures, and artifacts.Dan Perry, Newsweek, 18 Dec. 2024
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Intel used every trick in its spell book but even that wasn't enough.Caroline Reid, Forbes, 17 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Timothée Chalamet, who portrays Bob Dylan in the new biopic A Complete Unknown, took Dylan's invocation quite literally.Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 26 Nov. 2024
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Then-President Harry Truman had continued Roosevelt’s invocation of the act for years after the war’s end.Maria Ramirez Uribe, Austin American-Statesman, 20 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Stubborn independence is, however, a blessing and a curse.Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 7 Dec. 2024
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However, this long history can be both a blessing and a curse.Mike Whitmire, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Incantation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incantation. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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