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magician

magician

245 3.6
A person who does tricks that look like magic or who people think has real powers
  • noun
  • /məˈdʒɪʃən/
translation icon : mago
  • She hired a magician to entertain the children at her birthday party.
  • become a magician
  • magicians and witches
  • magicians and sorcerers

What kind of magician nonsense is this?

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Examples

  • I had no idea you were an amateur magician.

  • In a card trick, the magician fans out the cards and says, "Pick one."

    Fiction book (1990)
  • But everything changed when one day a magician came to our school.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Father, the tired, old magician driving the boat, must have felt it, too.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • This is the face you make when a magician correctly guesses your card.

  • One of the greatest magicians and dancers in the world.

  • It's like a magician doesn't give away his tricks.

  • "Tonight we will dine together, Unnalash," said the magician, crossing the shades of the evening garden.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Derek Del Gaudio is an unbelievable magician, A magician.

  • The magician captivated the audience with his astonishing tricks.

Synonyms

witch
vsmagician
790 4.1

A woman believed to have magical powers in stories

is a neutral, non-gendered label that covers both entertainers and believed users
performer
vsmagician
261 2.5

A person who entertains people, for example by singing or acting

is the specific term for stage entertainers, while the key also covers magic users
wizard
vsmagician
  • Literature
260 4.6

A person who uses magic to do powerful or strange things

is the general, neutral term that includes both real and performed magic senses
warlock
vsmagician
  • Literature
108 8.6

A man who uses magic and is thought to work with evil spirits

is the neutral term used for entertainers and for general believed magic users
sorcerer
vsmagician
  • Literature
107 7.9

A person who uses magic to make things happen

is broader, applying to both stage entertainers and believed supernatural users
mage
vsmagician
43 9.5

A person who uses magic in stories or myths

is a common, general term that also covers stage performance senses
illusionist
vsmagician
16 6.9

A performer who entertains people by doing magic tricks like making things appear or disappear

is wider, also applying to those believed to have actual supernatural powers
occultist
vsmagician
5 9.9

A person who studies or practices hidden spiritual powers like talking to spirits

is the general everyday word covering both stage tricksters and occult practitioners
conjurer
vsmagician
4 8.2

A person who performs magic tricks to entertain people

is the general label that includes both performing tricksters and believed magic users
enchanter
vsmagician
2 8.7

A person who uses magic to change people or things

is the wider everyday word that also includes entertainers who fake effects
thaumaturge
vsmagician
  • Literature
1 9.9

A person who does magic to make impossible things happen

is the general label used both for entertainers and believed miracle workers
prestidigitator
vsmagician
1 9.9

A person who does magic tricks with cards and coins to entertain people

is the more general everyday word that also means a believed magic user
conjuror
vsmagician
1 7.2

A person who entertains people by doing magic tricks

is the broader term covering both entertainers and those thought to have powers
wizardess
vsmagician
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A woman who uses magic and casts spells

is the neutral, non-gendered label covering entertainers and believed magic users
thaumaturgist
vsmagician
  • Literature
9.9

A person who does magic or seems to cause miracles

is the broad everyday term covering entertainers and those thought to have real powers
Magian
vsmagician
  • Archaic
9.9

A person who uses magic to change things

is the everyday term covering both ritual practitioners and stage entertainers
witchman
vsmagician
9.9

A man people think can use magic

is the broader, neutral term that also covers entertainers and performers
conjure man
vsmagician
  • Literature
9.9

A man who uses traditional magic to heal people or tell the future

is the wider term used for both cultural magic workers and stage entertainers

How Magical

sorcerer
  • Literature
107 7.9
wizard
1 7.5
magician
245 3.6
entertainer
117 2.1

Surface Forms

magician singular
magicians plural

Morphology

magician = magic (transparent) = magic + ian

Formed by the noun 'magic' plus the agent/relational suffix '-ian', so its meaning 'a person who performs or practices magic' is directly derivable.

Etymology

Magician comes from the old name magi, which means 'wise men' and was used for people thought to have special powers. That's why a magician is linked to magic — a person who seems to have 'special powers' or who performs tricks to amaze people.