conjure

American  

[kon-jer, kuhn-, kuhn-joor] / ˈkɒn dʒər, ˈkʌn-, kənˈdʒʊər /

verb (used with object)

conjured, conjuring

1. to affect or influence by or as if by invocation or spell.

2. to effect, produce, bring, etc., by or as by magic.

   to conjure a miracle.

3. to call upon or command (a devil or spirit) by invocation or spell.

   Synonyms:

   invoke , raise , summon

4. to call or bring into existence by or as if by magic (usually followed byup ).

   She seemed to have conjured up the person she was talking about.

5. to bring to mind; recall (usually followed byup ).

   to conjure up the past.

6. to appeal to solemnly or earnestly.

   I conjure you to hear my plea.

7. Obsolete.  to charge solemnly.

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verb (used without object)

conjured, conjuring

1. to call upon or command a devil or spirit by invocation or spell.

2. to practice magic.

3. to practice legerdemain.

4. Obsolete.  to conspire.

noun

1. Chiefly Southern U.S.  an act or instance of witchcraft, Hoodoo, or Voodoo, especially a spell.

conjure British  

/ ˈkʌndʒə /

verb

1. (intr) to practise conjuring or be a conjuror

2. (intr) to call upon supposed supernatural forces by spells and incantations

3. (tr) to appeal earnestly or strongly to

   I conjure you to help me

4. 1. a person thought to have great power or influence

   2. any name that excites the imagination

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Other Word Forms

• unconjured adjective

Etymology

Origin of conjure

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English conj(o)uren, cunjouren, from Anglo-French, Old French conjurer, from Latin conjūrāre “to join in taking an oath, form an alliance, join a plot or conspiracy,” equivalent to con- prefix meaning “with, together” + jūrāre “to take an oath, swear,” derivative of jūr- inflectional stem of jūs “law”; con-, jury ¹, justice

Example Sentences

Cooking requires "nafas", or soul, Orfali explained, using the Arabic term that describes a cook's personal flair for food and their ability to conjure up exceptional meals.

From Barron's

In laying out the workings of a traditional Dutch windmill, for instance, he conjures a fictional miller, “a congenial fellow” who “knocks out his pipe on the door frame” before getting to work.

From The Wall Street Journal

Munger and Jackson made a list of his favorite meals, which she conjured up.

From The Wall Street Journal

Her LP is a narrative of troubled love and shattered small-town lives in which sparkly country songs sit alongside drones that conjure the hum of electrical lines snaking down a highway.

From The Wall Street Journal

Raised Catholic but long-since lapsed, he instead harnesses an emphatic merger of physical form and fluid red color to conjure a wholly secular vision of the body and the blood.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• exorcise
• invoke
• summon