seance
Seance (noun) means a meeting at which people attempt to make contact with the spirits of the dead, usually led by a medium and often held around a table in a darkened room. Example: “They held a seance in the old house on the anniversary of his death.”
How to Use Seance
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA meeting where people try to talk to the dead.
Neutral and everyday when describing the practice; the accented spelling séance looks slightly more formal or literary.
The verb that goes with it is hold or conduct, not do: you hold a seance.
Trace the full origin ↓Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
They held a _____ in the old house on the anniversary of his death.
Etymology
From French séance, 'a sitting or session', from seoir 'to sit', which goes back to Latin sedere 'to sit'.
Synonyms
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Rhymes for seance
See all rhymes for seance →Frequently Asked Questions
What actually happens at a seance?
Participants sit together, usually in low light, while a medium tries to open communication with the dead. Contact is said to come through rapping sounds, moving objects, automatic writing, a Ouija board or the medium speaking in another voice. There is no scientific evidence that any of this contacts the deceased, and many famous seance effects have been exposed as conjuring tricks.
Is a seance the same as a Ouija board session?
Not quite. A seance is the whole gathering, which may or may not use any equipment. A Ouija board is one tool sometimes used within a seance, and people also use it casually on their own without any medium present.
How do you spell and pronounce seance?
It is spelled seance, or séance with the French acute accent, which many publishers still keep. It is pronounced SAY-ahnss, with two syllables.