1
as in spell
a spoken word or set of words believed to have magic power
originally, an abracadabra was a cryptogram of the word "abracadabra" that was repeated in diminishing form until it disappeared entirely—supposedly just like the targeted evil or misfortune
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2
as in nonsense
unintelligible or meaningless talk
after some abracadabra the spiritualist announced that we had made contact with "the other side"
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Recent Examples of abracadabra
But Trump’s Hollywood gambits well surpass that obvious bit of abracadabra.
—
Steven Zeitchik, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Make the Boston Celtics vanish on abracadabra?
—Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY, 18 May 2022
His utilization of terms like irreducible complexity is about as substantive as chanting abracadabra, but probably just as effective in convincing fellow travelers already sympathetic to his position as shamans were in the days of yore.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 5 Sep. 2011
That’s seven steps to make abracadabra, whose molecular assembly number is thus seven.
—Sarah Scoles, Scientific American, 13 Jan. 2023
It's got lots of entries for inquisitive younglings, from abracadabra to zombies.
—Phil Plait, Discover Magazine, 12 Aug. 2011
And there’s an abracadabra quality of pulling a bed out nowhere.
—Christine Lennon, Sunset Magazine, 11 Feb. 2022
The smoke from Luka Doncic’s latest abracadabra moment still hangs in the air, along with our collective state of disbelief.
—Dallas News, 15 Apr. 2021
When someone pushed the button — abracadabra — the bus went from Boston to New York, just like that.
—James Barron, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2019
Steven Zeitchik, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Make the Boston Celtics vanish on abracadabra?
—Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY, 18 May 2022
His utilization of terms like irreducible complexity is about as substantive as chanting abracadabra, but probably just as effective in convincing fellow travelers already sympathetic to his position as shamans were in the days of yore.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 5 Sep. 2011
That’s seven steps to make abracadabra, whose molecular assembly number is thus seven.
—Sarah Scoles, Scientific American, 13 Jan. 2023
It's got lots of entries for inquisitive younglings, from abracadabra to zombies.
—Phil Plait, Discover Magazine, 12 Aug. 2011
And there’s an abracadabra quality of pulling a bed out nowhere.
—Christine Lennon, Sunset Magazine, 11 Feb. 2022
The smoke from Luka Doncic’s latest abracadabra moment still hangs in the air, along with our collective state of disbelief.
—Dallas News, 15 Apr. 2021
When someone pushed the button — abracadabra — the bus went from Boston to New York, just like that.
—James Barron, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abracadabra
Noun
-
The film failed to cast a spell on audiences with total takings of $87.3 million in its opening weekend, 13% less than forecast.—
Caroline Reid,
Forbes.com,
30 Mar. 2025
-
Alas, the more likely scenario is that this plague will drag on and on: a runny nose, a sore throat, a lingering fever, a brief spell of feeling better that ends when your daughter tells you her ear hurts.—
Kathryn Schulz,
New Yorker,
29 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
But when real users interact with it, the system collapses, generating nonsense or failing to handle inputs that deviate from the demo script.—
Albert Lie,
Forbes.com,
4 Apr. 2025
-
Slapping down Putin should mean something, but that pronouncement, like everything Trump utters, is undercut by him spouting nonsense, including about a third term, which his press secretary laughed off yesterday.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
1 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Instead, the government simply repeats its incantation of a need to modernize the system and uncover fraud.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
21 Mar. 2025
-
This outsider ritually led a wild bull, magically and temporarily tamed by incantation, through the streets, drawing ever closer to the Vatican, until he was finally arrested by papal authorities.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
26 Sep. 2024
Noun
-
She was getting winded on our walk, and her prattle was broken up by heavy breaths.—
Joshua Cohen,
The New Yorker,
13 Oct. 2024
-
The larcenous prattle is, in this sense, a typically Wiig-ian set piece: sunny, strained and flailing for dignity.—
Lili Loofbourow,
Washington Post,
20 Mar. 2024
Noun
-
This is the familiar mumbo jumbo that Hollywood loves to attach to surfing, to highlight the metaphysical connection that surfers have to the waves, the ocean, and maybe even the cosmos.—
Frederick Dreier,
Outside Online,
4 Mar. 2025
-
Trying to decode that spirit's mystical mumbo jumbo into actionable intelligence is a key part of your effort against the Dreamscourge.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
13 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Worse, such jabber crowds out essential coverage of genuine threats to democracy and the visions of the two parties.—
Jennifer Rubin,
Washington Post,
16 July 2024
-
Jacobs-Jenkins renders him as a wry, friendly figure who occasionally takes over the bodies of the other characters to explain what is happening beneath their jabber.—
Jesse Green,
New York Times,
5 June 2023
Noun
-
But at the heart of it is an army of armchair scientists tapping into the unknown, shattering relaxation boundaries and spewing gibberish all in the hopes that someone out there will tingle.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
12 Mar. 2025
-
While his wife, Mark’s sister Devon, seems to regard her husband’s new-age gibberish with indifference or annoyance, there are people in Ricken’s orbit who can match his freak.—
Samantha Allen,
Them,
25 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
In the case of viral chatter, the message would be a human pandemic.—
Ron Barrett,
The Conversation,
31 Mar. 2025
-
Instead of dialogue, the SEAL team communicates through chatter.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
28 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Abracadabra.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abracadabra. Accessed 11 Apr. 2025.
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