What does exorcising mean?
Exorcising is the act of driving out an evil spirit, demon, or other malevolent presence from a person, place, or object, most often through a formal religious rite performed by someone with spiritual authority, such as a priest. The word carries strong connotations of ritual, conflict, and liberation: what is exorcised does not simply depart but is forcibly expelled after a struggle between good and evil. Beyond its literal religious meaning, 'exorcising' is widely used figuratively to describe confronting and dispelling persistent fears, painful memories, guilt, or other psychological burdens — as when a writer describes exorcising old demons by revisiting a difficult past. This figurative sense appears constantly in journalism, memoir, and everyday conversation. Derived from Greek roots meaning to adjure or cause to swear an oath, the word belongs to a small family that includes 'exorcism' and 'exorcist', terms made familiar worldwide by religion and popular culture alike.
verbTo drive out or expel an evil spirit, demon, or other supposed malevolent entity from a person, place, or object, especially through a religious ritual. By extension, to rid something of an unwanted influence, fear, or memory as if it were a haunting presence.
- To expel an evil spirit or demon from a person, place, or object, typically through a religious ceremony.
- To rid oneself or something else of a persistent fear, memory, or troubling influence, used figuratively.
"The old priest spent decades exorcising demons from the troubled houses of the parish."
"The villagers believed only the bishop could succeed in exorcising the spirit haunting the chapel."
"Writing her memoir was a way of exorcising the guilt she had carried for twenty years."
Every 'exorcism' you've seen on screen traces back to a Greek word that literally meant 'making someone swear an oath' — the rite began by forcing the demon to swear it would leave.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of exorcising
Exorcising derives from Late Latin exorcizare, borrowed from Greek exorkizein, meaning 'to adjure' or literally 'to make (someone) swear an oath', formed from ex- ('out of') and horkos ('oath'). In early Christian usage, an exorcist compelled a demon to swear that it would abandon its victim, which gave the verb its modern sense of driving out evil spirits. English adopted the verb around the early 17th century alongside the related nouns 'exorcism' and 'exorcist'.
Related word forms
How exorcising is actually used
Both the literal religious sense and the figurative sense are common in modern English; the figurative use ('exorcising one's demons') is frequent in journalism and everyday speech. The spelling 'exorcizing' is rare; 'exorcising' is standard in both British and American English.
Easily confused with exorcising
'Exercising' means performing physical activity or using a right or faculty, while 'exorcising' means driving out spirits or banishing unwanted influences.