magician
Americannoun
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magicians
plural
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an entertainer who is skilled in producing illusion by sleight of hand, deceptive devices, etc.; conjurer.
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a person who is skilled in magic; sorcerer.
- Synonyms:
- wizard, enchanter, necromancer
noun
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another term for conjuror
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a person who practises magic
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a person who has extraordinary skill, influence, or qualities
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of magician
1350–1400; magic + -ian; replacing Middle English magicien < Middle French
Explanation
A magician does magic tricks. You might hire a magician to pull rabbits out of hats and do card tricks at your next birthday party. A performer whose specialty is sleight-of-hand and other illusions is one kind of magician. Another magician is the kind who makes real magic, casting spells and summoning spirits. More people believe in the first kind of magician — who is simply pretending to do magic — than the second. The word stems from the Old French magiciien, "magician or sorcerer," which is rooted in the Greek word for "magical," magikos.
Vocabulary lists containing magician
2015 National Spelling Bee Words
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Magical Vocabulary
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -an
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
I need to buy a suit, and then get a magician to invite me.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
“But Netanyahu is nothing if not a political magician, and to write him off would be premature.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
The diminutive magician scored twice, taking his goal total for the tournament to seven, before converting in the shootout as Argentina clinched a first World Cup since Diego Maradona's heroics in 1986.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026
It’s all just bravado and illusion in a show where the magician has no bunnies left to pull from his top hat.
From Salon ● May 28, 2026
If the other kids weren’t fond of having a magician in the Bureau before, I can only guess what they’ll be thinking now.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
At Barnum’s American Museum in New York City, visitors could see America’s first aquarium, a menagerie of exotic animals, performances by magicians and ventriloquists, and waxworks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 25, 2026
This time out, the original Four Horsemen -- who first appeared on screen in 2013 -- are joined by three younger magicians: Ariana Greenblatt, Dominic Sessa and Justice Smith.
From Barron's ● Nov. 16, 2025
At one point all of the magicians spontaneously do a show for one another, each of them taking part in a can-you-top-this series of illusions strung as close together as popcorn on a string.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2025
The arachnologist has named species after celebrities, musicians, photographers and even magicians.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2025
There might be some kind of creature out there that eats magicians for dinner and lures them to its den through social media.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
