as in sorcery
the power to control natural forces through supernatural means
in the conjuring of the souls of the dead, necromancy seemed to offer human beings a means of exerting some control over an uncertain world
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Recent Examples of necromancy
After her death, Morgan even resorted to necromancy, reviving the People’s Princess (now embodied by Elizabeth Debicki) as an apparition who soothes a disconsolate Charles (Dominic West) and makes peace with a grieving but resentful Elizabeth (Imelda Staunton).
—
Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 14 Dec. 2023
Part of my aversion arises from my own hidebound premodern Calvinist outlook, in which death is no laughing matter and necromancy is forbidden by God (see Deuteronomy 18:9-13).
—Barton Swaim, WSJ, 26 Oct. 2023
Season 8, which arrived on BritBox last month, includes a spooky Christmas tale, a bright spin on necromancy, a game show that doesn’t go according to plan (hosted by Lee Mack) and an off-kilter love story.
—Margaret Lyons, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2023
Vo’s introduction of witchcraft, necromancy and enchantment miraculously produces a more relevant novel than that poetic tale of a gaudy stalker and his closeted pimp that’s been passed off for decades as the ultimate interrogation of the American Dream.
—Washington Post, 18 June 2021
The necromancy reference and Gideon's own interest in cloning would seem to be connections to the cloning project that led to Snoke and the eventual reveal of the cloned Emperor Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 12 Apr. 2023
Faith is desperately pinned to necromancy.
—Robert Shackleton, Harper’s Magazine , 25 May 2022
Many writers, especially of the Afropessimist school, argue that Black trauma has been hijacked by narratives of redemption, as names like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor cease to refer to individuals and become—by a kind of necromancy—avatars of others’ political ideals.
—Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 20 Sep. 2021
At Google I/O 2022, the company decided to engage in a bit of device necromancy.
—Eric Bangeman, Ars Technica, 24 Dec. 2022
Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 14 Dec. 2023
Part of my aversion arises from my own hidebound premodern Calvinist outlook, in which death is no laughing matter and necromancy is forbidden by God (see Deuteronomy 18:9-13).
—Barton Swaim, WSJ, 26 Oct. 2023
Season 8, which arrived on BritBox last month, includes a spooky Christmas tale, a bright spin on necromancy, a game show that doesn’t go according to plan (hosted by Lee Mack) and an off-kilter love story.
—Margaret Lyons, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2023
Vo’s introduction of witchcraft, necromancy and enchantment miraculously produces a more relevant novel than that poetic tale of a gaudy stalker and his closeted pimp that’s been passed off for decades as the ultimate interrogation of the American Dream.
—Washington Post, 18 June 2021
The necromancy reference and Gideon's own interest in cloning would seem to be connections to the cloning project that led to Snoke and the eventual reveal of the cloned Emperor Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 12 Apr. 2023
Faith is desperately pinned to necromancy.
—Robert Shackleton, Harper’s Magazine , 25 May 2022
Many writers, especially of the Afropessimist school, argue that Black trauma has been hijacked by narratives of redemption, as names like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor cease to refer to individuals and become—by a kind of necromancy—avatars of others’ political ideals.
—Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 20 Sep. 2021
At Google I/O 2022, the company decided to engage in a bit of device necromancy.
—Eric Bangeman, Ars Technica, 24 Dec. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for necromancy
Noun
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Lawrence-Mathers not only shows the bonds between religion and sorcery but examines the sheer beauty of the manuscripts involved, from illumination to illustration.—
Bethanne Patrick,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Feb. 2025
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Currently untitled, the film is set in the present-day South, watching as a young woman’s reality is turned inside out when a school project unveils a powerful history of magic and sorcery in her family.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
18 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The best interpreters embrace that witchcraft, in their way.—
Hannah Edgar,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Mar. 2025
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In a home for pregnant young women in 1970 Florida, a book on witchcraft upends lives.—
The California Independent Booksellers Alliance,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Mulligan invites Thompson — after her Misty used magic to compel the dragon to dance as a distraction — to roll for the dragon’s power to resist it.—
Eric Francisco,
Rolling Stone,
1 Mar. 2025
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And, of course, there’s more of what made Apocalypse so famous that fans were willing to travel from across Miami-Dade and line up for hours in the hot sun: brisket, ribs and other barbecue magic.—
Connie Ogle,
Miami Herald,
28 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Necromancy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/necromancy. Accessed 6 Mar. 2025.
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