Definition of wise woman in US English:

noun

• A woman considered to be knowledgeable in matters such as herbal healing, magic charms, or other traditional lore.

  Example sentences

  • ‘Confused and, to say the least, frightened, he decided to call upon the wise woman who lived at the edge of the forest.’
  • ‘Witches, shamans, wise women and other variants of the same are more than likely to have their own agendas.’
  • ‘But the bulk of the population had little access to physicians, seeking instead barber-surgeons, apothecaries, empirics such as bonesetters and tooth-drawers, or wise women.’
  • ‘For early modern Italy this has meant integrating the study of bone-setters, pedlars, wise women, priests, exorcists, and saints into more traditional explorations of physicians, surgeons, and apothecaries.’
  • ‘Midwives and nurses also included magic among their skills, and wise women might be consulted about which ghost or deity was causing a person trouble.’

  Synonyms

  prophet, prophetess, seer, sibyl, augur, wise man, sage, oracle, prognosticator, prophesier, forecaster of the future, diviner, fortune teller, crystal gazer, clairvoyant, psychic, spiritualist, medium, palmist, palm reader

  View synonyms