conjure

verb, noun — 9 senses

conjure

verb

UK /ˈkʌn.d͡ʒə/ · US /ˈkɑn.d͡ʒɚ/

Etymology From Middle English conjuren, from Old French conjurer, from Latin coniūrō (“to swear together; conspire”), from con- (“with, together”) + iūro (“to swear or take an oath”).

8 senses
  1. 1To perform magic tricks.
  2. 2To summon (a devil, etc.) using supernatural power.
  3. 3To practice black magic.
  4. 4To enchant or bewitch.
  5. 5To evoke.
  6. 6To imagine or picture in the mind.
  7. 7To make an urgent request to; to appeal to or beseech.
  8. 8To conspire or plot.
1

To perform magic tricks.

  • He started conjuring at the age of 15, and is now a famous stage magician.
2

To summon (a devil, etc.) using supernatural power.

  • We all technically have the ability to conjure, just like Caine. It just comes naturally to him, but requires a lot more skill and concentration for us.2026 March 20, Gooseworx, “hjsakldfhl” (21:28 from the start), in The Amazing Digital Circus, episode 8, spoken by Kinger (Sean Chiplock):
3

Archaic To practice black magic.

  • "Thou great Norman lump!" he muttered. "If I conjure till Doomsday, I cannot make thee gold."1971, Richard Carpenter, Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac, Harmondsworth: Puffin Books, page 7:
4

Archaic To enchant or bewitch.

5

To evoke.

6

To imagine or picture in the mind.

  • 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;...1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter V, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 51:
7

Archaic To make an urgent request to; to appeal to or beseech.

  • I conjure you, let him know, / Whate'er was done against him, Cato did it.1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene (please specify |scene=iii or iv), page 8:
  • Stammering out something, I knew not what, I rolled away from him against the wall, and then conjured him, whoever or whatever he might be, to keep quiet, and let me get up and light the lamp again.1851 November 14, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:
8

Obsolete To conspire or plot.

  • Drew after him the third part of Heaven's sons / Conjured against the Highest.1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
Derived terms
conjurable, conjurement, conjurer, conjuror, conjuress, conjure up, conjure with, conjurour, name to conjure with, reconjure, unconjured, upconjure, word to conjure with

conjure

noun

Etymology From Middle English conjuren, from Old French conjurer, from Latin coniūrō (“to swear together; conspire”), from con- (“with, together”) + iūro (“to swear or take an oath”).

1

The practice of magic; hoodoo; conjuration.

African-American Vernacular

Derived terms
conjureman, conjurewoman
Related terms
conjuration

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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