occult
- noun
- /əˈkʌlt/
- So why don't you believe in the occult?
- magic and the occult
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Watch on YouTubeIt's hard to earn my trust and I'm interested in the occult.
- It's hard to earn my trust and I'm interested in the occult.
Examples
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Christendom had its own long tradition of interest in the occult, the hermetic, and the magical.
Academic text (2001) -
The fervent audience for books about the paranormal and the occult suddenly dried up around 1981.
Blog text (23) -
And I also discovered that these were scientists that were involved in occult research.
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Interest in the occult has seen a major revival in recent years.
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His interest in philosophy and the occult led many to view him as a mystic.
Blog text (27) -
Colleen is a born Catholic who long ago discovered a fascination for the occult.
Fiction book (2001) -
The Count, a practitioner of the occult, had his own personal astrologer, a peasant woman of incredible skill.
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On the crammed bookshelves, psychology texts sit next to volumes on mythology, religion, and the occult.
Fiction book (2000) -
The latter's preoccupation with the occult repelled the scientific community, and he felt compelled to hide it.
Academic text (2001) -
Many people are fascinated by the mysteries surrounding the occult and its ancient practices.
Synonyms
Power that makes impossible things happen, often in stories or rituals
A practice of using magic and spells to help or harm people
To use magic to control people or events, often to harm
A world of beings and events believed to be beyond nature
Unclear ideas not based on reason or evidence
The study and practice of magic and secret powers
A belief that some events are caused by beings or powers beyond what science can explain
Secret or special knowledge and ways of doing things that only a small group understands
Practices that try to use hidden powers like magic
Antonyms
- Specialized
The belief that only physical things are real and minds come from them
- Formal
The belief that reason and logic give true knowledge more than feeling or experience
Compounds
- Specialized
A test that checks stool for hidden blood to find early colon cancer
How Supernatural
Surface Forms
Etymology
Occult as a noun also comes from the old Latin occultus, meaning 'hidden'. Because it named things kept secret or out of sight, occult came to mean 'secret knowledge' or hidden, supernatural practices.