Adjacent Words

Conjure definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CONJURE, v.t. [L., to swear together, to conspire.]
1. To call on or summon by a sacred name, or in a solemn manner; to implore with solemnity. It seems originally to have signified, to bind by an oath.
I conjure you! Let him know, whateer was done against him, Cato did it.
2. To bind two or more by an oath; to unite in a common design. Hence intransitively, to conspire. [Not usual.]
CONJURE, v.t. To expel, to drive or to affect, in some manner, by magic arts, as by invoking the Supreme Being, or by the use of certain words, characters or ceremonies to engage supernatural influence; as, to conjure up evil spirits, or to conjure down a tempest; to conjure the stars.
Note. It is not easy to define this word, nor any word of like import; as the practices of conjurors are little known, or various and indefinite. The use of this word indicates that an oath or solemn invocation originally formed a part of the ceremonies.
CONJURE, v.i.
1. To practice the arts of a conjurer; to use arts to engage the aid of spirits in performing some extraordinary act.
2. In a vulgar sense, to behave very strangely; to act like a witch; to play tricks.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: summon into action or bring into existence, often as if by magic; "raise the specter of unemployment"; "he conjured wild birds in the air"; "call down the spirits from the mountain" [syn: raise, conjure, conjure up, invoke, evoke, stir, call down, arouse, bring up, put forward, call forth]
2: ask for or request earnestly; "The prophet bid all people to become good persons" [syn: bid, beseech, entreat, adjure, press, conjure]
3: engage in plotting or enter into a conspiracy, swear together; "They conspired to overthrow the government" [syn: conspire, cabal, complot, conjure, machinate]

Merriam Webster's

verb (conjured; conjuring) Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French conjurer, from Latin conjurare to join in taking an oath, from com- + jurare to swear — more at jury Date: 13th century transitive verb 1. to charge or entreat earnestly or solemnly 2. a. to summon by or as if by invocation or incantation b. (1) to affect or effect by or as if by magic (2) imagine, contrive — often used with up <we conjure up our own metaphors for our own needs — R. J. Kaufmann> (3) to bring to mind <words that conjure pleasant images> — often used with up <conjure up memories> intransitive verb 1. a. to summon a devil or spirit by invocation or incantation b. to practice magical arts 2. to use a conjurer's tricks ; juggle

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. 1 intr. perform tricks which are seemingly magical, esp. by rapid movements of the hands. 2 tr. (usu. foll. by out of, away, to, etc.) cause to appear or disappear as if by magic (conjured a rabbit out of a hat; conjured them to a desert island; his pain was conjured away). 3 tr. call upon (a spirit) to appear. 4 intr. perform marvels. 5 tr. (often foll. by to + infin.) appeal solemnly to (a person). Phrases and idioms: conjure up 1 bring into existence or cause to appear as if by magic. 2 cause to appear to the eye or mind; evoke. Etymology: ME f. OF conjurer plot, exorcise f. L conjurare band together by oath (as com-, jurare swear)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Conjure Con*jure", v. i. To combine together by an oath; to conspire; to confederate. [A Latinism] Drew after him the third part of Heaven's sons Conjured against the Highest. --Milton.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Conjure Con"jure, v. t. To affect or effect by conjuration; to call forth or send away by magic arts; to excite or alter, as if by magic or by the aid of supernatural powers. The habitation which your prophet . . . conjured the devil into. --Shak. To conjure up, or make visible, as a spirit, by magic arts; hence, to invent; as, to conjure up a story; to conjure up alarms.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Conjure Con"jure, v. i. To practice magical arts; to use the tricks of a conjurer; to juggle; to charm. She conjures; away with her. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Conjure Con*jure" (k[o^]n*j[=u]r"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Conjured (-j[=u]rd"); p. pr. & vb. n. Conjuring.] [F. conjurer, fr. L. conjurare to swear together, to conspire; con- + jurare to swear. See Jury.] To call on or summon by a sacred name or in solemn manner; to implore earnestly; to adjure. I conjure you, let him know, Whate'er was done against him, Cato did it. --Addison.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(conjures, conjuring, conjured) If you conjure something out of nothing, you make it appear as if by magic. Thirteen years ago she found herself having to conjure a career from thin air... They managed to conjure a victory. VERB: V n from/out of n, V n • Conjure up means the same as conjure. Every day a different chef will be conjuring up delicious dishes in the restaurant... PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. Beseech, supplicate, beg, pray, entreat, implore, enjoin solemnly. See adjure. II. v. a. Charm, enchant, bewitch, fascinate, affect by magic arts. III. v. n. Juggle, practise magic or sorcery, play tricks.

Moby Thesaurus

adjure, appeal, appeal to, bamboozle, beg, beguile, beseech, betray, bid come, bluff, brace, cajole, call, call away, call back, call for, call for help, call forth, call in, call on, call out, call together, call up, call up spirits, call upon, cheat on, circumvent, cite, clamor for, conjure up, conjure up spirits, convene, convoke, crave, cry for, cry on, cry to, deceive, delude, demand, diddle, double-cross, dupe, entreat, evoke, forestall, gammon, get around, gull, hoax, hocus-pocus, hornswaggle, humbug, impetrate, implore, importune, imprecate, indent, invoke, juggle, kneel to, let down, mock, muster, muster up, obtest, order up, outmaneuver, outreach, outsmart, outwit, overreach, page, pigeon, play one false, plead, plead for, pray, preconize, put something over, raise, raise ghosts, recall, requisition, run to, send after, send for, serve, snow, string along, subpoena, summon, summon forth, summon spirits, summon up, summons, supplicate, take in, trick, two-time