exorcism
noun /ˈeksɔːsɪzəm/
/ˈeksɔːrsɪzəm/
[uncountable, countable]- the act of getting rid of an evil spirit from a place or a person’s body by prayers or magic; a ceremony where this is done
- A priest performed an exorcism and afterwards the ghost disappeared.
- (formal) the act of making yourself forget a bad experience or memory
Word Originlate Middle English: via ecclesiastical Latin from ecclesiastical Greek exorkismos, from exorkizein ‘exorcize’.