talisman
Other forms: talismans
A talisman is a charm that is supposed to ward off evil or illness. Your rabbit's foot key chain may be your lucky talisman. Of course, it wasn't so lucky for that rabbit.
The word talisman has been around in English since the 1630s and it has roots in both Arabic and Greek words. A talisman is usually worn around the neck but could exist in other forms, like a ring or inscribed stone. You can think of a talisman as a good luck charm, but people tend to take talismans more seriously — as if they are empowered with magic to ward off evil spirits.
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a trinket or piece of jewelry usually hung about the neck and thought to be a magical protection against evil or disease
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Vocabulary lists containing talisman
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Three young refugees — a Jewish boy fleeing Nazi Germany in 1939, a Cuban girl suffering under the Castro regime in 1994, and a Muslim boy trying to escape war-torn Syria in 2015 — make desperate journeys in search of freedom and safety.