a primitive method of determining a person's guilt or innocence by subjecting the accused person to dangerous or painful tests believed to be under divine control; escape was usually taken as a sign of innocence
the impression that something is present; "he felt the presence of an evil force"
the immediate proximity of someone or something; "she blushed in his presence"; "he sensed the presence of danger"; "he was well behaved in front of company"
an invisible spiritual being felt to be nearby
the state of being present; current existence; "he tested for the presence of radon"
an object of dread or apprehension; "Germany was always a bugbear for France"; "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds"--Ralph Waldo Emerson