noun
voodoo
VOO-doo
noun
1
A religion practiced mainly in Haiti and parts of Louisiana, blending West African spiritual traditions with Catholic elements.
"Her grandmother grew up practicing voodoo in rural Haiti."
"The documentary explored the misunderstood rituals of voodoo."
2
Loosely, any approach to a problem that seems magical, superstitious, or hard to justify logically.
"Critics dismissed the new economic plan as pure voodoo."
"He treated his software fix like voodoo — he had no idea why it worked."
How to Use Voodoo
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA West African-rooted religion, or — used loosely and often dismissively — anything that sounds like magic rather than real logic.
Common mistake
Be careful using it as a casual insult ("that's just voodoo") — it can come across as disrespectful to an actual living religion.
Common pairings
voodoo doll
voodoo economics
practice voodoo
Word Forms
voodooed past tense, voodoos plural, voodoos singular
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Her grandmother grew up practicing _____ in rural Haiti.
Etymology
Traced back through Haitian Creole and French to a West African language (likely Fon or Ewe), where a related word meant "spirit" or "deity."