Abracadabra
a mystical word or expression used in incantations, on amulets, etc., as a magical means of warding off misfortune, harm, or illness.
any charm or incantation using nonsensical or supposedly magical words.
meaningless talk; gibberish; nonsense.
Contemporary Examples
Wei somehow slips in unnoticed, has a private tête-à-tête with the powers that be, and abracadabra, deal done.
China’s Financial Insider Huang Hung March 17, 2010
Chandelier, swimming pool, patient EKG, abracadabra, you are free.
Catastrophe in Verse Eliza Griswold April 20, 2011
The first entry is “abracadabra,” which at one time was an ancient code used by Egyptian priests, and ends with “Zoroastrianism.”
The Craziest Religions Benyamin Cohen July 23, 2010
Historical Examples
Meantime he was obliged to live in abracadabra, and make the best of it.
Yellow-Cap and Other Fairy-Stories For Children Julian Hawthorne
If my reader finds this bosh and abracadabra, all right for him.
Fantasia of the Unconscious D. H. Lawrence
And you ought not to leave Abra, for Abra only is abracadabra.
Yellow-Cap and Other Fairy-Stories For Children Julian Hawthorne
His Bolshevik abracadabra has seduced the workers of every race.
The Behavior of Crowds Everett Dean Martin
It is marvelous how science proceeds like witchcraft and alchemy, by means of an abracadabra which has no earthly sense.
Fantasia of the Unconscious D. H. Lawrence
“All this is abracadabra to me,” I replied quickly, in fear of a torrent.
Dariel R. D. Blackmore
And mumbling his “abracadabra” over the sand spread on a cloth before him, he took up his bamboo-stick and wrote therein––Khalid!
The Book of Khalid Ameen Rihani
interjection
a spoken formula, used esp by conjurors
noun
a word used in incantations, etc, considered to possess magic powers
gibberish; nonsense
magical formula, 1690s, from Latin (Q. Severus Sammonicus, 2c.), from Late Greek Abraxas, cabalistic or gnostic name for the supreme god, and thus a word of power. It was written out in a triangle shape and worn around the neck to ward off sickness, etc. Another magical word, from a mid-15c. writing, was ananizapta.
Read Also:
- Abrachia
abrachia abrachia a·bra·chi·a (ə-brā’kē-ə, ā-brā’-) n. Congenital absence of the arms.
- Abrachiocephalia
abrachiocephalia abrachiocephalia a·bra·chi·o·ce·pha·li·a (ə-brā’kē-ō-sə-fā’lē-ə, -ā-brā’-) or a·bra·chi·o·ceph·a·ly (ə-brā’kē-ō-sěf’ə-lē) n. Congenital absence of the arms and head. Also called acephalobrachia.
- Abradable
to wear off or down by scraping or rubbing. to scrape off. verb (transitive) to scrape away or wear down by friction; erode v. 1670s, from Latin abradere “to scrape off” (see abrasion). Related: Abraded; abrading. abrade a·brade (ə-brād’) v. a·brad·ed, a·brad·ing, a·brades To wear away by mechanical action. To scrape away the surface layer […]
- Abradant
having an property, effect, or quality; . an . Historical Examples Carborundum, or silicide of carbon, is largely superseding emery and diamond dust as an abradant. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century. Edward W. Byrn
- Abrade
to wear off or down by scraping or rubbing. to scrape off. Historical Examples Genuine amber, when rubbed together, emits a very fragrant odour similar to a fresh lemon, and does not abrade the surface. Notes and Queries, Number 188, June 4, 1853 Various This is specially the case with Chaffinches and Bramblings: Greenfinches abrade […]