hocus-pocussed or hocus-pocused; hocus-pocussing or hocus-pocusing
: to play tricks on
Examples of hocus-pocus in a Sentence
Noun
with some well-crafted hocus-pocus, the illusionist made the dove disappear from his hands
Recent Examples on the Web
Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2024
That's essentially what predictive AI does, minus the mystical hocus-pocus.
—Bernard Marr, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024
In the years since bitcoin was introduced, digital payment systems that skip the hocus-pocus, like Venmo and Apple Pay, have become ubiquitous.
—Paul Krugman, The Mercury News, 6 Aug. 2024
There were a lot of hocus-pocus remedies like bee stings — pretty crazy things that were not going to help you.
—Degen Pener, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 May 2023
The regulatory agency posted a public safety notification warning people not to use eye drops with such ingredients—products more akin to hocus-pocus than modern medicine.
—Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 20 Apr. 2023
The occult isn't just a bunch of hocus-pocus to Vanessa Hudgens.
—Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 15 Apr. 2023
Matthew Carey Salyer, Forbes, 17 Feb. 2023
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
One of the important things Conclave does is to slowly peel back archaic layers to reveal what all the hocus-pocus represents in this day and age.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2024
That's essentially what predictive AI does, minus the mystical hocus-pocus.
—Bernard Marr, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024
In the years since bitcoin was introduced, digital payment systems that skip the hocus-pocus, like Venmo and Apple Pay, have become ubiquitous.
—Paul Krugman, The Mercury News, 6 Aug. 2024
There were a lot of hocus-pocus remedies like bee stings — pretty crazy things that were not going to help you.
—Degen Pener, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 May 2023
The regulatory agency posted a public safety notification warning people not to use eye drops with such ingredients—products more akin to hocus-pocus than modern medicine.
—Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 20 Apr. 2023
The occult isn't just a bunch of hocus-pocus to Vanessa Hudgens.
—Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 15 Apr. 2023
Verb
The term, ‘problematic,’ which the WRU uses like part of a ritualistic formulae, is postgraduate humanities burble, the hocus-pocus gesture of a shallow, paraprofessional idiom that avoids candor.
—Matthew Carey Salyer, Forbes, 17 Feb. 2023
Dictionary Entries Near hocus-pocus
Cite this Entry
“Hocus-pocus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hocus-pocus. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share