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Definition of abracadabra

abracadabra

/ˌæb.rə.kəˈdæb.rə/
ab · ra · ca · da · bra
Plural:abracadabras
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abracadabra Lexical Profile

abracadabra Game Scores & Validity

• interjection

1

Used by stage magicians or performers when executing a magic trick or illusion to announce a sudden, seemingly magical transformation.

Example

"Abracadabra! With a wave of her wand, the magician pulled a white dove out of the empty silk hat."

Synonyms
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• noun

1

A word or mystical incantation historically inscribed on amulets as a protective charm and now spoken as a magic formula during conjuring tricks.

Example

"Ancient healers often inscribed an abracadabra on parchment to protect patients from illness."

2

Confusing, pretentious, or unintelligible language or jargon that obscures plain meaning.

Example

"The legal contract was so full of technical abracadabra that we hired an attorney to explain it."

Synonyms
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Antonyms
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• Nearby Words

aboveboard
aboveground
abovementioned
abracadabra
abrade
abram
abrasion

Word Origin & Etymology

First recorded in the 2nd century AD in a medical poem by the Roman physician Quintus Serenus Sammonicus, who prescribed wearing the word in an inverted triangle on an amulet to ward off malaria and fevers. Its ultimate Semitic or Greek root remains debated, possibly deriving from an Aramaic phrase meaning 'I create as I speak.'

Cite this Entry

Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Abracadabra. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Nov 5, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/abracadabra
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