Apotropaic

Quick meaning: Apotropaic is an adjective meaning (religion, mysticism) Intended to ward off evil.

Meaning

(religion, mysticism) Intended to ward off evil.

More Meanings

1. An agent intended to ward off evil.

Example Sentences

A boring subtext, about the wisdom or otherwise of actually uttering Voldemort's name, meanwhile robs the apotropaic device of its force.

Wormwood [...] was associated with the rites of St. John's Eve, when a crown of the plant was made from its sprays for apotropaic purposes, to ward of malefic spirits.

Commonly known as ‘ritual protection marks’, or even ‘witch marks’, an apotropaic image or symbol is a marking that is thought to create a ‘protection’ for the individual that created it – or for the area or object into which it was inscribed.

In earlier generations scholars reacted by removing many of these objects from public view, putting them in the ‘Secret Cabinet’ of the museum at Naples or otherwise under wraps. […] More recently the fashion has been to deflect attention from their sexuality by referring to them as ‘magical’, ‘apotropaic’ or ‘averters of the evil eye’.

Word Forms

• apotropaics

Synonyms for apotropaic

Depending on context, synonyms include apotropaion.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include pyrolatrous, theopneust, ambrosial, omnimalevolent, metamystic, hermetic.

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