hocus-pocus

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Until we all pay attention to what matters, the fee hocus-pocus will never stop.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025

Even up close, it was impossible to tell whether it was all sleight of hand or real hocus-pocus.

From Washington Post • Oct. 21, 2021

And though I felt a bit deflated by his rationalist preamble — like Blanche in “A Streetcar Named Desire,” I wanted hocus-pocus, not realism — I was bewitched by the processing power of his mind.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 27, 2021

Endeavoring to access Langley’s notebooks, she cozies up to his niece, a down-at-the-heels dealer in antiquarian books who isn’t above employing a little Lee Israel-style hocus-pocus to produce fake inventory for a credulous clientele.

From New York Times • Feb. 1, 2019

"And what makes you so sure that science is so reliable? Or that the university crowd has any better answers than the hocus-pocus gang?"

From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements