What does voodooing mean?
Voodooing is the present-participle form of voodoo used as a verb. In its literal sense, it refers to practicing voodoo or attempting to use its religious and magical practices, especially against another person. Figuratively, voodooing means deliberately causing bad luck, failure, or harm to someone, often as a dramatic way of describing sabotage or spite. The expression is memorable because voodoo carries a long Western history of links between Louisiana, the Caribbean, and West African religious traditions, although its use as a synonym for sabotage is largely figurative and informal. Writers should distinguish voodooing as a verb from voodoo as a noun or another verb form and should avoid using the term in ways that trivialize or stigmatize actual religious practices. In contemporary English, voodooing is most useful as a vivid expression for attempted harm or interference, but it can also refer directly to ritual magic in narrative and historical contexts.
verb (present participle and gerund)Voodooing means practicing voodoo or attempting to use its religious or magical powers, especially against someone. Figuratively, it means deliberately bringing bad luck, failure, or ruin upon a person.
- Practicing voodoo or attempting to use its religious or magical powers.
- Using voodoo to cause harm, or figuratively bringing bad luck or ruin upon someone.
"He seemed determined to voodoo his opponent before the election."
"In the historical novel, an old healer is accused of voodooing a neighboring village."
"He seemed determined to voodoo his opponent before the election."
Voodooing survives in English as both a description of ritual magic and a vivid metaphor for calculated sabotage.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of voodooing
The English word voodoo entered use in the early 19th century, borrowed from Louisiana French voudoi. Louisiana French in turn drew on the West African Fon word vodun, meaning “spirit.” The related forms vodou and vodun name the Haitian Creole and Fon forms of the tradition, while voodooing was formed in English by adding the present-participle ending -ing.
Related word forms
How voodooing is actually used
The literal sense is uncommon in everyday speech and most often occurs in fictional, cultural, or historical discussion. The figurative sense is informal and can sound theatrical or deliberately sensational; it should not be used in a way that trivializes or stigmatizes actual religious practices.
Easily confused with voodooing
Hoodoo can refer more broadly to African American folk magic, charms, or traditions of good-luck and bad-luck practices, whereas voodooing specifically denotes performing voodoo or attempting to use it against someone.