noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
UK:/ˌs(j)uː.pə(ɹ)ˈstɪ.ʃən/
UK:/ˌs(j)u.pə(ɹ)ˈstɪ.ʃn̩/
US:/ˌs(j)u.pɚˈstɪ.ʃən/
US:/ˌs(j)u.pɚˈstɪ.ʃn̩/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
UK:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɪʃən
CMU ARPABET:S UW2 P ER0 S T IH1 SH AH0 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A belief considered to be irrational, unfounded, or based solely on fear and ignorance, particularly credulous reverence towards and belief in supernatural forces.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, derogatory, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Excessive nicety; overscrupulousness.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic, countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
an irrational belief arising from ignorance or fear
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: superstitious notion
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: belief
History
Etymology
From Middle French superstition, from Latin superstitio (“superstition”), from superstāre (“to stand above, to stand upon, to survive”) + -tiō (“-tion: forming nouns”), from super- (“above, over, upon”) + stāre (“to stand”).
Across languages
Translations
123 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
supersticion
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Albanian:
besëtytni
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Arabic:
خُرَافَة
(ḵurāfa)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Armenian:
սնահավատություն
(snahavatutʻyun)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Azerbaijani:
mövhumat
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Azerbaijani:
xurafat
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Bashkir:
хөрәфәт
(xörəfət)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Basque:
sineskeria
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Belarusian:
забабо́ны
(zababóny)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Bengali:
কুসংস্কার
(kuśoṅskar)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Bulgarian:
суеве́рие
(suevérie)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Burmese:
အယူသည်းခြင်း
(a.yusany:hkrang:)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Catalan:
superstició
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Chinese Cantonese:
迷信
(mai4 seon3)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Eastern Min Chinese:
迷信
(mì-séng)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Chinese:
迷信
(bê-sìn)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Chinese Mandarin:
迷信
(míxìn)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Cornish:
hegoledh
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Czech:
pověra
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Danish:
overtro
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Dutch:
bijgeloof
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Esperanto:
superstiĉo
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Estonian:
ebausk
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Finnish:
taikausko
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
French:
superstition
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Galician:
superstición
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Georgian:
ცრურწმენა
(crurc̣mena)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
German:
Aberglaube
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Greek:
δεισιδαιμονία
(deisidaimonía)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Greek:
πρόληψη
(prólipsi)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Hebrew:
אֱמוּנָה תְּפֵלָה
(emuná t'felá)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Hindi:
अंधविश्वास
(andhviśvās)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Hindi:
ख़ुराफ़त
(xurāfat)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Hindi:
खुराफत
(khurāphat)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Hindi:
ख़ुराफ़ात
(xurāfāt)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Hindi:
खुराफात
(khurāphāt)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Hungarian:
babona
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Icelandic:
hjátrú
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Icelandic:
hindurvitni
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Icelandic:
hégilja
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Icelandic:
bábilja
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Indonesian:
takhayul
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Indonesian:
khurafat
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Irish:
baothchreideamh
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Irish:
piseog
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Italian:
superstizione
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Japanese:
迷信
(meishin)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Kalmyk:
йор
(yor)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Kapampangan:
ariya
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Kazakh:
ырым
(yrym)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Kazakh:
ырымшылдық
(yrymşyldyq)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Khmer:
អប្បិយជំនឿ
(ʼappeyaʼ cumnɨə)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Korean:
미신
(misin)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Kyrgyz:
ырым-жырым
(ırım-jırım)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Lao:
ຄວາມເຊື່ອໂຊກລາງ
(khuām sư̄a sōk lāng)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Latin:
superstitio
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Latvian:
māņticība
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Lithuanian:
prietaras
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Luxembourgish:
Awerglawen
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Luxembourgish:
Awerglaf
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Macedonian:
суеверие
(sueverie)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Malay:
tahyul
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Malayalam:
അന്ധവിശ്വാസം
(andhaviśvāsaṁ)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Maltese:
superstizzjoni
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Māori:
whakataputaputanga
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Mongolian:
мухар сүсэг
(muxar süseg)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Norman:
supèrstition
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Norwegian Bokmål:
overtro
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Occitan:
supersticion
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Old English:
æfgælþ
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Pashto:
خرافات
(xerāfāt)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Pashto:
موهوم پرستي
(mawhumparastí)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Iranian Persian:
خُرافِه
(xorâfe)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Iranian Persian:
خُرافات
(xorâfât)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Iranian Persian:
مُوهومات
(mowhumât)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Plautdietsch:
Äwagloowen
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Polish:
przesąd
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Polish:
zabobon
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Portuguese:
superstição
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Romanian:
superstiție
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Russian:
суеве́рие
(sujevérije)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Russian:
пристра́стие
(pristrástije)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Russian:
предрассу́док
(predrassúdok)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Russian:
пове́рье
(povérʹje)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Scottish Gaelic:
saobh-chràbhadh
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Serbo-Croatian:
празноверје n/празновјерје
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Serbo-Croatian:
празноверица f/празновјерица
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Serbo-Croatian:
сујеверје n/сујевјерје
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Serbo-Croatian:
prȁznovjērje
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Serbo-Croatian:
praznòvjerica
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Serbo-Croatian:
sȕjevjērje
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Slovak:
povera
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Slovene:
praznoverje
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Slovene:
vraževerje
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Spanish:
superstición
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Swedish:
skrock
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Swedish:
vidskepelse
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Swedish:
övertro
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Tagalog:
pamahiin
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Tagalog:
erehiya
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Tajik:
хурофот
(xurofot)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Tajik:
мавҳумат
(mavhumat)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Tatar:
хорафат
(xorafat)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Telugu:
మూఢ నమ్మకము
(mūḍha nammakamu)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Thai:
ไสยศาสตร์
(sǎi-yá-sàat)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Thai:
ไสยเวท
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Thai:
ความเชื่องมงาย
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Thai:
ความเชื่อโชคลาง
(kwaam-chʉ̂ʉa-chôok-laang)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Turkish:
batıl inanç
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Turkish:
hurafe
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Turkmen:
yrym
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Ukrainian:
забобо́н
(zabobón)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Urdu:
خُرافَت
(xurāfat)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Urdu:
خُرافات
(xurāfāt)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Uyghur:
خۇراپات
(xurapat)
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Uzbek:
irim
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Uzbek:
xurofot
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Uzbek:
irim-chirim
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Vietnamese:
mê tín
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Vietnamese:
sự mê tín
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Volapük:
lukred
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Walloon:
doûce creyance
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
Welsh:
ofergoel
— a belief considered irrational, unfounded, or guided by fear and ignorance
