exorcis- +

1. To expel (an evil spirit) by or as if by incantation, command, rituals, or prayer; with the intention of ridding a person or place of a supposed presence or influence of evil spirits.
2. To free from evil spirits or malign influences; such as, to clear the mind of a painful or oppressive feeling or memory.
3. Etymology: driving out (an evil spirit) by prayers, ceremonies, etc.; borrowed from Old French exorciser, from Late Latin exorcizare, from Greek exorkizein, "exorcise, to bind by oath" (ex-, "out of" + horkizein, "to cause" or "to make a person swear, to administer an oath to", from horkos, "oath"; also literally, limitation, binding).

As noted above, "oath" is to be found at the etymological heart of exorcise, a term going back to the Greek word exorkizein, meaning "to swear in, to take an oath by, to conjure", and "to exorcise".

The English word "exorcise" is first recorded in English possibly before the beginning of the 15th century; and in this use, exorcise means "to call up" or "to conjure spirits" rather than "to drive out spirits"; a different sense which was first recorded in 1546.

1. Having expelled (an evil spirit) by or as if by incantation, command, or prayer.
2. Freed from evil spirits or maligned influences.

1. Someone who seeks to expel (an evil spirit) by adjuration or religious or solemn ceremonies: "The preacher, an exorciser, exorcised a demon by holding a Bible at a woman's head and commanding that the demon possessing her, "Be gone!"
2. Anyone who frees (a person, place, etc.) of evil spirits or malignant influences.

1. The act of driving out, or warding off, demons, or evil spirits, from persons, places, or things, which are believed to be possessed or infested by them, or are liable to become victims or instruments of their malice: "In recent years, there has been a revival of the practice of exorcism and an increasing demand for the services of exorcists by troubled individuals."
2. The act of casting out demons or evil spirits in a ritual designed to free individuals from evil influences "A formula used during an exorcism and in some churches, exorcism is practiced prior to baptism."
3. Something that a person can do that helps him or her to stop thinking about a bad experience or memory: "The psychiatrist helped his patient to get rid of the terrible depressions she had as a result of the death of her young daughter by a sex offender by using a form of exorcisms that included hypnotism and positive thinking exercises."
4. Etymology: from 1395, a calling up or driving out of spirits; borrowed from Late Latin exorcismus, from Greek exorkismos, from exorkizein, "bind by oath," from ex-, "out of" + horkizein, "cause to swear", from horkos, "oath".

1. In general, any one who exorcises or professes to exorcise demons, in particular, someone who is ordained by a Catholic bishop for this office.
2. A person who forces an evil spirit to leave someone, or a place, by using prayers or magic.
3. Someone who removes the bad effects of a frightening or upsetting event: "The exorcist said it would take a long time to exorcise the memory of the accident so the woman could live with less mental stress."
4. Etymology: from about 1384, in the Wycliffe Bible; borrowed from Late Latin exorcista, from Greek exorkistes, from exorkizein, "to exorcise".

1. A reference to, or a description of, the act or practice of exorcising.
2. Referring to a spell or formula used in exorcising.

A reference to the ceremony or the formula used in exorcising.

To force an evil spirit, or an unpleasant or painful memory to leave someone: Jim was watching a movie about a priest who was trying to exorcize a demon from a young girl.

Last Sunday, a preacher strived to exorcize and to drive out the devil and supernatural beings from all of his church attendees with prayers to God.

In the story Jeff was reading, the girls decided to exorcize the spooky apparitions from the garden by singing chants and walking in circles!

Not exorcised; not cast out by exorcism; that is, not released from evil spirits or bad influences; such as, the mind which is not cleared of a painful or oppressive feeling or memory.