witcheries

Noun

witchery (countable and uncountable, plural witcheries)

1. (uncountable) Witchcraft.
   • You are right to some extent in what you say. In the olden days people had a stronger belief in all kinds of witchery; now they pretend not to believe in it, that they may be looked upon as sensible and educated people, as you say.1881, P. Chr. Asbjörnsen [i.e., Peter Christen Asbjørnsen], translated by H. L. Brækstad, Round the Yule Log. Norwegian Folk and Fairy Tales, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, →OCLC...

   Synonyms:

   whistness, witchdom, witchwork, bewitchery, black arts, charmwork, conjuration, conjuring, craft, dark arts

2. (countable) An act of witchcraft.
   • It may be they know something of the witcheries of this woman.1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, chapter XXXVI, in Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst...

   Synonyms:

   witching, bewitching, bewitchment, spellcasting, enchanting, enchantment, fascination, ensorcellment, incantation

3. (figuratively, uncountable) Allure, charm, magic.
   • At noon, when by the forest's edge / He lay beneath the branches high, / The soft blue sky did never melt / Into his heart,—he never felt / The witchery of the soft blue sky!1798 (date written), William Wordsworth, “Part First”, in Peter Bell, a Tale in Verse, London: […] Strahan and Spottiswoode, […]; for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […], published 1819...