magician
Americannoun
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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
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.
We also meet Malini the Magician, about whose tricks and feats of legerdemain “stories are still told, with a true sense of awe, by some of the world’s greatest magicians.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 16, 2025
Magician John Henry Anderson died in 1874, the same year Harry Houdini was born - yet despite the two never meeting, Anderson was reputedly among the legendary escapologist's greatest inspirations.
From BBC • Apr. 11, 2025
But this year, Magician Devonte Rosero took a grill lighter to pieces of paper on which Villaneuva and others had written down what they wanted to put behind them.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 28, 2023
Magician Lozoya said he and his family were not alerted by the hotel about the approach of the hurricane until about 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, barely 1-1/2 hours before Otis came ashore.
From Reuters • Oct. 27, 2023
But he was, in any case, as vain as a peacock; that was why he had become a Magician.
From "The Magician's Nephew" by C. S. Lewis
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.
