Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for "Magi"
Jump To:
  • Magi
    Magi
    plural noun
    null the Magi, in the Bible, the astrologers who paid homage to the young child Jesus, traditionally assumed to be three in number and to be named Balthazar, Caspar, and Melchior.
  • magi
    magi
    plural noun
    the Zoroastrian priests of the ancient Medes and Persians
Synonyms

Magi

American  
[mey-jahy, maj-ahy] / ˈmeɪ dʒaɪ, ˈmædʒ aɪ /
Or magi

plural noun

  • Magus
    singular
  1. null the Magi, in the Bible, the astrologers who paid homage to the young child Jesus, traditionally assumed to be three in number and to be named Balthazar, Caspar, and Melchior.

  2. the class of Zoroastrian priests in ancient Media and Persia, reputed to possess supernatural powers.

  3. magi, people who are believed to have expertise in interpreting the assumed influence of the stars, moon, and planets on human affairs; astrologers.


magi British  
/ ˈmeɪdʒaɪ, ˈmeɪdʒɪən /

plural noun

  1. the Zoroastrian priests of the ancient Medes and Persians

  2. the wise men from the East who came to do homage to the infant Jesus (Matthew 2:1–12) and traditionally called Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Magi Cultural  
  1. The sages who visited Jesus soon after his birth. (See Wise Men.)


Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of Magi

First recorded in 1175–1225; see origin at Magus

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:

Intricate sculptural groups depict the Annunciation, the birth of Jesus, the Adoration of the Magi and the shepherds, Herod’s massacre of the innocents, the flight into Egypt, Jesus preaching at the temple, and more.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 14, 2026

In the second half, the soaked photographer was spotted by Ferguson, who asked her: "Magi, are you a bit wet?" and told her to "come and sit between Kiddo and myself".

From BBC Dec. 25, 2025

Nobody can tell you whether any of them knew a Magi from a Musketeer, not to mention that the Roman Empire they worked under was a failed administration.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 7, 2025

“We are called instead to set out and journey, like the Magi, following the light that always desires to lead us on, at times along unexplored paths and new roads.”

From Seattle Times Dec. 21, 2023

I worried that if she kept it up, the Three Magi wouldn’t come with presents.

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago

The uplighted orrery glows on the faces of two boys who lean into the circuits of solar orbit as it once glowed on the faces of the shepherds and magi at the crib in Bethlehem.

From The Wall Street Journal Mar. 14, 2026

These wise men, or magi, will eventually arrive at the manger on Jan. 6, also known as Epiphany or Three Kings Day.

From Los Angeles Times Nov. 30, 2024

The kings sponsored Zoroastrian temples and expanded the faith at least in part because the faith supported them: the magi, or priests, preached in favor of the continued power and expansion of the empire.

From Textbooks Jan. 1, 2020

At certain hours, children craned their necks up at the astronomical clock tower in the main square to see sculptures of the three magi emerging on a carousel.

From New York Times Jul. 7, 2018

Gifts of the foreign magi, brought from afar.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

The most earnest, enthusiastic conversations about literature in Seattle happen in the aisles of Magus every day.

From Seattle Times Dec. 20, 2022

Under the watchful eye of owner David Bell, Magus became the institution that we know today.

From Seattle Times Dec. 20, 2022

Ask anyone to close their eyes and picture a four-decade-old used-book store situated next to a major university, and the bookstore they imagine is likely to resemble Magus Books in Seattle’s University District.

From Seattle Times Dec. 20, 2022

When she and her husband Chris Weimer bought Magus in 2004, the shop was already an institution.

From Seattle Times Dec. 20, 2022

Simon Magus, who believed himself attended by Moloch and Beelzebub, two princes of hell, under the respective forms of a leopard and a serpent, was the most remarkable sorcerer in the time of Christ.

From In Both Worlds by William Henry Holcombe

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training