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wizard

wizard

260 4.6
A person who uses magic to do powerful or strange things
  • noun
  • /ˈwɪzərd/
  • Literature
translation icon : mago
  • In the story, the wizard cast a spell to bring the enchanted forest to life.
  • wizard of Oz
  • wizards and gods

And she's trying to capture this wizard, and it turns out that he's gone.

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Examples

  • And does this wizard have a name?

  • Every Weasley, every wizard would want one.

  • We're off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz.

  • Boy, the old wizard could use a little nap.

  • Is there a doctor or a wizard to turn her into a mermaid?

  • There's only one evil wizard who would do this.

  • "If he's such a great wizard, why do we have such rotten luck?"

    Fiction book (1992)
  • They would view you as a wizard or sorcerer.

  • All my life I'd been reading about Wizards, Dragons, magic, spells.

  • Even the highest of high-ranking wizards obeyed when a king or queen gave them an order.

    Fiction book (1993)

Synonyms

magician
vswizard
245 3.6

A person who does tricks that look like magic or who people think has real powers

is mainly used for a believed magical practitioner rather than entertainer
sorcerer
vswizard
  • Literature
107 7.9

A person who uses magic to make things happen

is about being believed to have magical powers and practicing them
mage
vswizard
43 9.5

A person who uses magic in stories or myths

is used broadly for real belief in magical power, not only fiction
enchanter
vswizard
2 8.7

A person who uses magic to change people or things

is a general belief in magical ability rather than focused spellcasting
thaumaturge
vswizard
  • Literature
1 9.9

A person who does magic to make impossible things happen

is about being believed to have magic and practicing it broadly
conjuror
vswizard
  • Archaic
1 8.6

A person who claims to have magic powers to help or harm people

is the straightforward belief in real magical power, not merely claimed acts
arcanist
vswizard
  • Literature
1 9.9

A person who uses secret magic to cast spells

is more general belief in magical powers outside niche fantasy settings
thaumaturgist
vswizard
  • Literature
9.9

A person who does magic or seems to cause miracles

is a general believed magic practitioner rather than miracle worker
Magian
vswizard
  • Archaic
9.9

A person who uses magic to change things

is the general believed magic practitioner not limited to rites
witcher
vswizard
  • Archaic
9.9

A person who uses magic in old stories

is the common modern term for a believed magic practitioner

Antonyms

Muggle
  • Literature
5 7.7

A person who has no magic and cannot use it

How Magical

archdemon
  • Literature
9.9
sorcerer
  • Literature
107 7.9
wizard
  • Literature
260 4.6
magician
245 3.6
conjurer
4 8.2

Surface Forms

wizard singular
wizards plural

Morphology

wizard = wise (opaque) = wiz + ard

Although historically formed from 'wise' + '-ard', the sense 'magician' cannot be reliably derived by a B1 learner from 'wise'.

Etymology

Wizard comes from an old English word built on wise, which means 'wise', plus the part -ard that makes it 'a person'. At first it meant a very 'wise' person, and because people in stories gave those wise people magic, wizard came to mean someone with magical powers.