Meaning & use
conjuring
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“conjuring” is a form of “conjure”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
noununcountable
The art of performing tricks that seem like magic, such as making objects appear and disappear, to entertain an audience.
Grammar: Uncountable noun, often before another noun: a conjuring trick, conjuring skills.
Patterns
- a conjuring trick
- the art of conjuring
Her grandfather taught her conjuring when she was eight.
The children watched the conjuring act with open mouths.
He wrote a book on the history of conjuring.
verbtransitive
Making an image, feeling or idea appear in the mind, often with the help of words or music.
Grammar: Takes an object, and usually with up: conjuring up memories.
Patterns
- conjuring up something
- conjuring something from something
The smell of bread was conjuring up memories of her grandmother's kitchen.
The poem keeps conjuring images of a stormy sea.
He is good at conjuring a mood with only a few brush strokes.
verbtransitive
Producing something quickly and as if from nothing, often a meal or an idea.
Grammar: Takes an object and often up: conjuring up a meal from leftovers.
Patterns
- conjuring something up
- conjuring something out of nothing
She is conjuring a delicious dinner out of a few leftover vegetables.
The designer was conjuring ideas faster than the team could draw them.
Word forms
| base form | conjure |
|---|---|
| third person singular | conjures |
| past tense | conjured |
| -ing form | conjuring |
Common combinations
- conjuring trick
- The conjuring trick fooled even the other magicians.
- conjuring up images
- The speech was conjuring up images of a better future.
- conjuring up memories
- Old photographs were conjuring up memories of summers by the sea.
- conjuring act
- A conjuring act opened the evening's entertainment.
- conjuring up a meal
- He amazed everyone by conjuring up a meal from nothing.
Synonyms and how they differ
- magic
- Magic is the broader word and includes fantasy and spells, while conjuring specifically means stage tricks performed by hand.
- sleight of hand
- Sleight of hand names the quick movements behind the tricks, while conjuring names the whole performance.
- evoking
- Evoking is the more formal choice for bringing feelings or memories to mind, and conjuring is warmer and slightly more vivid.
- summoning
- Summoning suggests calling something or someone to appear, often as an effort.
Word family
- conjure verb
- to perform magic tricks or to call an image to mind
- conjurer noun
- a person who performs magic tricks
- conjuror noun
- an alternative spelling of conjurer
- conjuration noun
- the act of calling up spirits, a rare, old-fashioned word
Commonly confused: conjuring or conjugating?
conjuring vs conjugating
Conjugating means changing the form of a verb for person and tense in grammar, unlike conjuring, which is about magic or imagination.
Practice
The smell of pine needles kept ___ up Christmases from his childhood.
Choose one answer.
Conjuring up means bringing to mind. Conjugating is a grammar term, and consuming and concerning do not fit with up in this meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “conjuring”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.