Conjure
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 The practice of magic; hoodoo; conjuration. uncountable
- 1 To perform magic tricks. intransitive
"He started conjuring at the age of 15, and is now a famous stage magician."
- 2 engage in plotting or enter into a conspiracy, swear together wordnet
- 3 To summon (a devil, etc.) using supernatural power. transitive
- 4 ask for or request earnestly wordnet
- 5 To practice black magic. archaic, intransitive
""Thou great Norman lump!" he muttered. "If I conjure till Doomsday, I cannot make thee gold.""
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 summon into action or bring into existence, often as if by magic wordnet
- 7 To enchant or bewitch. archaic, transitive
- 8 To evoke. transitive
- 9 To imagine or picture in the mind. transitive
"There was a deep silence, while Helen's vivid fancy conjured up the scene. She knew the small neat room—she had been with Mrs. Palmer to see it; the cheerful garden filled with flowers, the hum of the distant play-ground, the rosy clusters of an acacia-tree, whose branches almost came in at the window;..."
- 10 To make an urgent request to; to appeal to or beseech. archaic, transitive
"I conjure you, let him know, / Whate'er was done against him, Cato did it."
- 11 To conspire or plot. intransitive, obsolete
"Drew after him the third part of Heaven's sons / Conjured against the Highest."
Example
More examples"When they no longer have priests, the gods become very easy to conjure."
Etymology
From Middle English conjuren, from Old French conjurer, from Latin coniūrō (“I swear together; conspire”), from con- (“with, together”) + iūro (“I swear or take an oath”).
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.