Meaning & use
witch doctor
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A person in some traditional societies who is believed to treat illness and control spirits using magic and rituals.
Grammar: Countable: one witch doctor, two witch doctors.
Patterns
- consult a witch doctor
- a witch doctor's ritual
- be treated by a witch doctor
Villagers asked a witch doctor to cure the sick child.
The anthropologist spent a year studying how a witch doctor prepares herbal remedies.
In the story, a witch doctor casts a spell on the hero.
nouncountable
A person who claims to use magic to harm enemies or to protect people from harm.
Grammar: Used especially in fiction and historical writing about beliefs in magic.
Patterns
- hire a witch doctor
- a witch doctor's curse
The film's villain pays a witch doctor to put a curse on his rival.
Old legends say a witch doctor could send bad luck to an entire family.
Word forms
| plural | witch doctors |
|---|
Common combinations
- consult a witch doctor
- Instead of going to the clinic, he chose to consult a witch doctor.
- a witch doctor's spell
- The villagers blamed a witch doctor's spell for the drought.
- traditional witch doctor
- A traditional witch doctor mixed herbs and chanted over the patient.
- be treated by a witch doctor
- She was treated by a witch doctor before seeing a doctor at the hospital.
Synonyms and how they differ
- traditional healer
- Neutral and respectful; it describes the medical role without mentioning magic, so it is safer in formal writing.
- medicine man
- Similar in meaning and often used for North American cultures; it can also sound dated.
- shaman
- A more academic word for a spiritual leader who enters trances; it is not always the same role as a witch doctor.
Word family
- witchcraft noun
- The practice of magic, often to harm or control people.
- witch noun
- A woman believed to have magic powers.
Commonly confused: witch doctor or witch hunt? witch doctor or voodoo?
witch doctor vs witch hunt
A witch hunt is a search for and punishment of people with unpopular views, not a person who heals.
witch doctor vs voodoo
Voodoo is a religion or set of magical practices; a witch doctor is a person who uses such practices.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'witch doctor' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Witch doctor' is a countable noun and fits after 'a'. The other options add invented endings that are not English forms of this noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “witch doctor”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.