incantation

[ in-kan-tey-shuhn ]

noun

1. the chanting or uttering of words purporting to have magical power.
2. the formula employed; a spell or charm.
3. magical ceremonies.
4. magic; sorcery.

   Synonyms: wizardry, black magic, witchcraft

5. repetitious wordiness used to conceal a lack of content; obfuscation:

   Her prose too often resorts to incantation.

incantation

/ ˌɪnkænˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. ritual recitation of magic words or sounds
2. the formulaic words or sounds used; a magic spell

Derived Forms

• ˌincanˈtational, adjective

Other Words From

• incan·tation·al in·can·ta·to·ry [in-, kan, -t, uh, -tawr-ee, -tohr-ee], adjective
• incan·tator noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of incantation¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin incantātiōn- (stem of incantātiō ), equivalent to incantāt ( us ) past participle of incantāre to put a spell on, bewitch ( enchant, -ate ¹ ) + -iōn- -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of incantation¹

C14: from Late Latin incantātiō an enchanting, from incantāre to repeat magic formulas, from Latin, from in- ² + cantāre to sing; see enchant

Example Sentences

His voice, like a conjurer’s incantation, stirs the embers of rage, mustering both a conviction and devotion that consumes both logic and restraint.

From Salon

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.

From Los Angeles Times

Part 1, “Acknowledgment,” features a plodding incantation, first set by Jimmy Garrison’s bass, then played by the saxophone, then intoned in Coltrane’s husky voice: “A love supreme. A love supreme.”

From New York Times

Allen Ginsberg’s poem “Kaddish” rings with melancholic truth as a mourning for the maternal religion from which he felt alienated by the Israeli state's abandonment of its principles as much as an incantation of Yisgadal for his mother.

From Salon

The result, though it highlights Marshall’s distinctive phrasing and her subtle sense of irony, feels something like an incantation — a shrewd live offering at a moment when Dylan himself couldn’t seem less interested in rehashing his past glories.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• enchantment
• hymn