spell

Study(38)

/spɛl/

noun 10verb 9name 1

Collocations

(noun.) period of time

ADJ

lengthy, long, prolonged | brief, short | 5-minute, 10-day, etc. | good

bad

The team experienced a bad spell last season but improved dramatically this year.

quiet

barren, lean

After months without rain, the farmers hoped the barren spell would finally end.

cold, dry, hot, mild, sunny, warm, wet

VERB + SPELL

go through, have

PREP

during a ~

The team scored three goals during a spell of excellent attacking play in the second half.

~ as

She worked as a teacher for a short spell before returning to her previous job.

PHRASES

a spell of weather

We had a spell of rainy weather last week that kept everyone indoors.

a spell of unemployment

(noun.) magical effect

ADJ

magic, magical | powerful

hypnotic

The old magician cast a hypnotic spell that made the audience forget everything around them.

VERB + SPELL

be/come/fall under

cast, put, weave

The magician wove a spell that made the audience forget everything they had just seen.

break, remove

The wizard finally removed the spell that had trapped the village in darkness for years.

PREP

under a/the ~

The old house seemed to have everyone under its spell, and nobody wanted to leave.

under sb's ~

The children fell under the magician's spell as he pulled rabbits from his hat.

(verb.)

ADV

correctly, wrongly

PREP

The teacher spelled the difficult word as s-t-u-d-e-n-t for the young children.

with

My name is spelled with two l's, so people often get it wrong.

PHRASAL VERBS spell sth out

ADV

clearly | fully, in detail

exactly, precisely

The teacher spelled out exactly what students needed to do for the homework assignment.

VERB + SPELL

have to, need to

PREP

for

My teacher had to spell out the instructions for the class because everyone seemed confused.

The new contract spells out exactly what responsibilities each employee must fulfill.

Definitions

noun

Words or a formula supposed to have magical powers.

He cast a spell to cure warts.

A magical effect or influence induced by an incantation or formula.

under a spell

Skies are not so black / Mary took me back / Mary has broken your spell

Speech, discourse.

verb

To put under the influence of a spell; to affect by a spell; to bewitch; to fascinate; to charm.

Vnchaine your spirits now with spelling Charmes,

[…] although the Kings Jealousie was thus particular to her, his Affection was as general to others […] Above all, for a time he was much speld with Elianor Talbot […]

verb

To write or say the letters that form a word or part of a word.

I find it difficult to spell because I'm dyslexic.

To read (something) as though letter by letter; to peruse slowly or with effort.

"He'll do," said Bildad, eyeing me, and then went on spelling away at his book in a mumbling tone quite audible.

Of letters: to compose (a word).

The letters “a”, “n” and “d” spell “and”.

In Esperanto each letter has only one sound, and each sound is represented in only one way. The words are pronounced exactly as spelt, every letter being sounded.

To clarify; to explain in detail.

Please spell it out for me.

When we get elected, for instance, we get one of these, and we are pretty much told what is in it, and it is our responsibility to read it and understand it, and if we do not, the Ethics Committee, we can call them any time of day and ask them to spell it out for us[…]

To indicate that (some event) will occur; typically followed by a single-word noun.

This spells trouble.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

noun — a verbal formula believed to have magical force

charm

noun — a psychological state induced by (or as if induced by) a mag

noun — a period of indeterminate length (usually short) marked by s

noun — a time period for working (after which you will be relieved

verb — indicate or signify

import

verb — write or name the letters that comprise the conventionally a

write

Antonyms

unspell

Idioms & Phrases

under a spell

Bewitched; held (as if) by the power of a magical spell.

how do you spell this word

I would like to know how this word is written.

set a spell

To sit down for a period of time, especially in the company of other people and in order to relax or to engage in casual conversation.

[S]he declined his invitation to "Come up and see the old woman and set a spell."

it doesn't matter what they say about you as long as they spell your name right

Synonym of any press is good press.

Example Bank

He cast a spell to cure warts.

Wiktionary

under a spell

Wiktionary

Skies are not so black / Mary took me back / Mary has broken your spell

Wiktionary

Vnchaine your spirits now with spelling Charmes,

Wiktionary

[…] although the Kings Jealousie was thus particular to her, his Affection was as general to others […] Above all, for a time he was much speld with Elianor Talbot […]

Wiktionary

1697, John Dryden (translator), Georgics, Book 3 in The Works of Virgil, London: Jacob Tonson, p. 109, lines 444-446, This, gather’d in the Planetary Hour, With noxious Weeds, and spell’d with Words o

Wiktionary

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, spell is marked as obsolete, figuratively, informal, colloquial, US. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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