illusionist
Americannoun
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a conjurer or magician who creates illusions, as by sleight of hand.
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an adherent of illusionism.
noun
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a person given to illusions; visionary; dreamer
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philosophy a person who believes in illusionism
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an artist who practises illusionism
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a conjuror; magician
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of illusionist
Explanation
An illusionist is a magician, a person who performs stage magic to entertain audiences. The teenager on the sidewalk who does amazing card tricks for tips is an illusionist. Harry Houdini might be the most famous illusionist, specializing in escaping from what appeared to be impossible situations like being handcuffed and submerged in water. Other illusionists stick to pulling rabbits out of hats and quarters out of kids' ears. The earliest meaning of illusionist was "one who suffers from illusions," though it soon came to mean "one who creates illusions." The Latin root, illudere, means "to mock" or "to play at."
Vocabulary lists containing illusionist
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.
Illusionist Derren Brown hailed Berglas as "one of our greatest living magical performers" when Berglas was awarded his MBE.
From BBC • Nov. 4, 2023
"The Illusionist" actress, who made an appearance on the late-night show to promote her new Facebook Watch series "Limetown," celebrated seven years of marriage to Timberlake on Oct.
From Fox News • Oct. 23, 2019
As with The Prestige and The Illusionist in 2006, or Armageddon and Deep Impact in 1998, two films with the same premise were released in quick succession.
From The Guardian • Aug. 22, 2019
One Night Beyond Illusionist Abbott Alexander mixes magic, fantasy and drama; for ages 13 and up.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 3, 2017
The Ny�ya asserts that the world was composed out of atoms; the Illusionist speaks of the abstract Brahma as the Cause.
From Chaitanya's Life And Teachings From his contemporary Begali biography the Chaitanya-charit-amrita by K???ad?sa Kavir?ja Gosv?mi
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.
