Conjure Meaning
/ˈkʌn.d͡ʒə/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
verbTo perform magic tricks.
verbTo summon (a devil, etc.) using supernatural power.
Sentence Examples
When they no longer have priests, the gods become very easy to conjure.
What images does France conjure up for you?
CEFR Practice Quiz
The magician could ____ a dove from thin air during his act.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The magician waved his wand, pretending to ____ a rabbit out of thin air.
Word Origin & History
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”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
""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:
"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:
"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:
"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:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The magician could ____ a dove from thin air during his act.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The magician waved his wand, pretending to ____ a rabbit out of thin air.