voodoo
UK /ˈvuːduː/ · US /ˈvudu/ noun, verb
Forms voodoos voodooing voodooed vodou vodoun voudon voudoun vodun voudou
- noun Any of a group of related religious practices found chiefly in and around the Caribbean, particularly in Haiti and Louisiana.
- noun The spiritual beliefs of the Ewe/Fon of West Africa, practiced chiefly in Benin and in the south of Togo.
- noun (derogatory) Any sort of magical or irrational approach to a problem. “I want a real explanation, not this statistical voodoo.”
- noun (dated) One who practices voodoo; a native sorcerer.
- verb To bewitch someone or something using voodoo “He claimed his neighbor had voodooed him.”
Synonyms
Etymology
From Louisiana Creole voudou, from Haitian Creole Vodou, from a West African language, such as Ewe vódũ (“deity, idol”), Fon vòdún (“fetish”) or the Kwa languages vodũ.
Webster’s 1913
- noun See Voodooism.
- noun One who practices voodooism; a negro sorcerer.
- adjective Of or pertaining to voodooism, or a voodoo; as, voodoo incantations.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “voodoo”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details