English Dictionary

MAGIC

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IPA (US): 

 Dictionary entry overview: What does magic mean? 

MAGIC (noun)
  The noun MAGIC has 2 senses:

1. any art that invokes supernatural powersplay

2. an illusory feat; considered magical by naive observersplay

  Familiarity information: MAGIC used as a noun is rare.


MAGIC (adjective)
  The adjective MAGIC has 1 sense:

1. possessing or using or characteristic of or appropriate to supernatural powersplay

  Familiarity information: MAGIC used as an adjective is very rare.


 Dictionary entry details 


MAGIC (noun)


Sense 1

Meaning:

Any art that invokes supernatural powers

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

magic; thaumaturgy

Hypernyms ("magic" is a kind of...):

supernaturalism (a belief in forces beyond ordinary human understanding)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "magic"):

juju (the power associated with a juju)

mojo (a magic power or magic spell)

conjuration; conjuring; conjury; invocation (calling up a spirit or devil)

black art; black magic; necromancy; sorcery (the belief in magical spells that harness occult forces or evil spirits to produce unnatural effects in the world)

white magic (magic used only for good purposes)

Derivation:

magical (possessing or using or characteristic of or appropriate to supernatural powers)

magician (one who practices magic or sorcery)


Sense 2

Meaning:

An illusory feat; considered magical by naive observers

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

conjuration; conjuring trick; deception; illusion; legerdemain; magic; magic trick; thaumaturgy; trick

Hypernyms ("magic" is a kind of...):

performance (the act of presenting a play or a piece of music or other entertainment)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "magic"):

card trick (a trick performed with playing cards)

prestidigitation; sleight of hand (manual dexterity in the execution of tricks)

Derivation:

magical (possessing or using or characteristic of or appropriate to supernatural powers)

magician (someone who performs magic tricks to amuse an audience)


MAGIC (adjective)


Sense 1

Meaning:

Possessing or using or characteristic of or appropriate to supernatural powers

Synonyms:

charming; magic; magical; sorcerous; witching; wizard; wizardly

Context example:

wizardly powers

Similar:

supernatural (not existing in nature or subject to explanation according to natural laws; not physical or material)


 Context examples 


Opportunities to make more money will soon appear like magic.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

If you wish me to use my magic power to send you home again you must do something for me first.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

There was a magic, however, in the strength and health of Martin.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

That's the idea of Matemagos, a game designed for smartphones that combines magic with the subject considered the horror of students.

(Brazilian professor creates mobile game that combines fun with mathematics, Agência Brasil)

"To put it simply, all evidence indicates that there is no magic bullet," Dr. Eric Larson wrote in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

(Study: There's No Fail-safe Way to Prevent Dementia, VOA)

But, said Roland, I counsel you first to take away her magic wand, or we cannot escape if she pursues us.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

The name and its magic signified nothing to him.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

At the conclusion of the proceedings the tables were cleared as if by art-magic for dancing.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

She had never read Sartor Resartus, but she had a womanly instinct that clothes possess an influence more powerful over many than the worth of character or the magic of manners.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

He just knows that he was lifted up as if by magic and dropped as if by magic.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)



 Learn English with... Proverbs 
"There's more than one way to skin a cat." (English proverb)

"A crow a crow's eyes doesn't peck." (Bulgarian proverb)

"The fool has his answer on the tip of his tongue." (Arabic proverb)

"Hang a thief when he's young, and he'll no' steal when he's old." (Scottish proverb)



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