curandera

American

[koo-rahn-de-rah, koor-uhn-dair-uh] / ˌku rɑnˈdɛ rɑ, ˌkʊər ənˈdɛər ə /

noun

Spanish.

plural

curanderas

a female folk healer or medicine woman who uses herbs or psychoactive plants, magic, and spiritualism to treat illness, induce visions, impart traditional wisdom, etc.; a female shaman.

Vocabulary lists containing curandera

Novel Study: Bless Me, Ultima, Chapters 1–9

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Sesma, 65, is a Mexican and Yaqui curandera, or traditional healer.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 8, 2023

Gallo also said his grandmother, who was Yaqui indian, was a curandera — a neighborhood healer — who treated family members with native plants growing in her backyard.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 22, 2019

Tonita Gonzales, an internationally known curandera based in Albuquerque, called the promotion an “outrage and an appropriation” of Mexican American culture.

From Washington Times • Apr. 19, 2019

When Bri Luna started her website, the Hoodwitch, she intended to carry on the legacy of her grandmother, who was a curandera: a traditional spiritual healer from Mexico.

From New York Times • Sep. 16, 2015

“I am cured. A curandera took care of me. She discovered I had been hexed.”

From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023