plural witches
1
in fiction and folk traditions
a
: a person (especially a woman) who is credited with having usually malignant supernatural powers
The modern visual image of the "folklore" witch, made popular by the film representation of the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz (1939), is an old hag with a hooked nose and a mole, wearing a pointed hat and flowing robes, and flying on a broomstick.—
Donald Haase
Donald HaaseOnce upon a time the horror story was content to deal with things that go shriek in the night, with mad scientists, leering zombies, monsters, ghosts, witches, vampires and damsels in distress.—Eliot Fremont-Smith
Eliot Fremont-SmithFairy tale witches (not to be confused with our chic Wicca sisters) are rude, with a tendency to cackle at the misfortunes of others.—The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review… many Russian fairy tales tell of Baba Yaga, an old witch who flies around in a pestle and mortar and lives in a house that walks around on chicken legs.—Molly Barker
Molly Barker
b
: a woman who is believed to practice usually black (see black entry 1 sense 7) magic often with the aid of a devil or familiar : sorceress
Note: This meaning of witch is commonly encountered in contexts relating to historical Christian religious beliefs about witches and witchcraft.
Belief in the Devil was very strong in the medieval Church and witchcraft was regarded as heresy. Suspected witches were subjected to the Inquisition.—Eileen Rennison
Eileen RennisonMy interest centers on the religious reasons for the persecution of women as witches in early America.—Elizabeth Reis
Elizabeth ReisBut a common charge against [17th-century] English witches, though much less often raised against their Continental counterparts, was that they kept 'familiars'—imps or demons in the form usually of small animals such as dogs, cats and toads …—Geoffrey Scarre
compare warlock
Geoffrey Scarre2
or less commonly Witch
: a practitioner of witchcraft (see witchcraft sense 3) especially in adherence with a neo-pagan tradition or religion (such as Wicca)
While modern witches do believe in the ability to harness the forces of nature, Wicca has nothing to do with Satan, or evil spells.—Larry Potash
Larry PotashBeing a witch … in the world today can entail anything from being a practitioner of Wicca, a religion founded in the 20th century, to practicing any number of neo-pagan traditions. Not all self-identified witches are Wiccan, and not all Pagans would describe themselves as witches.—Antonia Blumberg
Antonia BlumbergIt has nothing to do with satanism, warts or hexes. I know, because I am a Wiccan priestess—a real Witch, not the fairy-tale stereotype.—Sue McCaskill
Sue McCaskillIt [The World of Witches Museum] is in fact a celebration of Witches, Wiccans and Pagans.—PRWeb.com
PRWeb.com3
: a mean or ugly old woman : hag, crone
"You old witch," she sputtered. "You always hated me, you did …"—Katherine Stanley
Katherine StanleyShe has a wrinkled-up and wizened personage—she must have been eighty—and as she mumbled the grim story through her toothless gums, she seemed a very old witch to them.—Upton Sinclair
Upton Sinclair4
: a charming or alluring girl or woman
[Sharon] Stone makes a captivating California witch who ranges exquisitely from tragic temptress to (possibly) manipulative murderess.—Mark Goodman
Mark Goodman5
witched; witching; witches
1
: to affect injuriously with witchcraft
2
archaic
: to influence or beguile with allure or charm
Synonyms
Examples of witch in a Sentence
Noun
an herbalist and self-proclaimed witch
Her mother-in-law is a bitter old witch.
Verb
the woman did witch me with her gentle smile
Recent Examples on the Web
Chris Stanton, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2024
Resembling a witch's face, this nebula is a stellar nursery some 1,300 light-years from Earth.
—Marco Rubio, Newsweek, 2 Nov. 2024
Andrew Torgan, CNN, 3 Nov. 2024
Indeed, Agatha and Nicholas’ tune appears to have taken on a life of its own, and now witches everywhere actually believe the Road exists.
—Rebecca Iannucci, TVLine, 30 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for witch 
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Noun
The first part of that is spoken by one of the three witches in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and was later repurposed by Bradbury as the title of his 1962 fantasy novel, Something Wicked This Way Comes.
—Chris Stanton, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2024
Resembling a witch's face, this nebula is a stellar nursery some 1,300 light-years from Earth.
—Marco Rubio, Newsweek, 2 Nov. 2024
Verb
Need a diversion from packing up the skeletons, bats and witches hats?
—Andrew Torgan, CNN, 3 Nov. 2024
Indeed, Agatha and Nicholas’ tune appears to have taken on a life of its own, and now witches everywhere actually believe the Road exists.
—Rebecca Iannucci, TVLine, 30 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for witch
Dictionary Entries Near witch
Cite this Entry
“Witch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/witch. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
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