Meaning & use
necromancy
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Meanings
noununcountable
The supposed practice of contacting the spirits of the dead in order to learn about the future or discover secrets.
Grammar: No plural and no a: he studied necromancy.
Patterns
- practice necromancy
- accused of necromancy
Medieval writers sometimes accused their enemies of necromancy.
The old book described rituals of necromancy that no one could prove worked.
In the story, the king hires a sorcerer skilled in necromancy to speak with his dead father.
noununcountable
In fantasy stories and games, magic that raises or controls the dead, such as skeletons or ghosts, to do the caster's will.
Grammar: Often appears as a school or class of magic: a necromancy spell.
Patterns
- master necromancy
- a necromancy spell
Her wizard character specializes in necromancy and travels with an army of skeletons.
The game's necromancy tree lets you summon fallen enemies.
The villain's necromancy turned the quiet graveyard into a battlefield.
Common combinations
- practice necromancy
- The villagers feared that the hermit practiced necromancy.
- dark necromancy
- The novel tells of dark necromancy hidden in a ruined tower.
- accused of necromancy
- She was accused of necromancy after the strange rumors spread.
- a master of necromancy
- The count was said to be a master of necromancy.
- forbidden necromancy
- The council banned all forbidden necromancy in the realm.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sorcery
- Sorcery covers any evil or powerful magic, while necromancy is specifically about the dead.
- witchcraft
- Witchcraft is broader and often tied to folk belief and accusations, not necessarily to the dead.
- divination
- Divination means foretelling the future by any method, so necromancy is only one kind of it.
Word family
- necromancer noun
- a person who practices necromancy
- necromantic adjective
- relating to necromancy
- necropolis noun
- a large cemetery of an ancient city
Commonly confused: necromancy or nigromancy?
necromancy vs nigromancy
This is an older variant spelling of necromancy, based on a mistaken link to the Latin word for black; today necromancy is the standard form.
Practice
A character who talks to ghosts and raises skeletons is most likely studying which art?
Choose one answer.
Necromancy is magic involving the dead. Herbalism, cartography and astronomy have nothing to do with ghosts or skeletons.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “necromancy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.