Library / English Dictionary |
MAGIC
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
An illusory feat; considered magical by naive observers
Synonyms:
conjuration; conjuring trick; deception; illusion; legerdemain; magic; magic trick; thaumaturgy; trick
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
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)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Any art that invokes supernatural powers
Synonyms:
magic; thaumaturgy
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
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)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Possessing or using or characteristic of or appropriate to supernatural powers
Example:
wizardly powers
Synonyms:
charming; magic; magical; sorcerous; witching; wizard; wizardly
Classified under:
Similar:
supernatural (not existing in nature or subject to explanation according to natural laws; not physical or material)
Context examples:
Yet these powers are ever used for good, and they are the gift of God and not of the devil, which is the difference betwixt white magic and black.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Research participants called this LED light the "magic lamp."
(Arrangement of light receptors in the eye may cause dyslexia, Wikinews)
I then absolutely concluded, that all these appearances could be nothing else but necromancy and magic.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
Diphenhydramine hydrochloride/dexamethasone/nystatin magic mouthwash inhibits the cytokine-mediated inflammation and yeast colonization of the oral mucosa associated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
(Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride/Dexamethasone/Nystatin Magic Mouthwash, NCI Thesaurus)
But, as if possessed of magic powers, the monster had blinded me to his real intentions; and when I thought that I had prepared only my own death, I hastened that of a far dearer victim.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
"It would be past the power of magic, sir;" and, in thought, I added, "A loving eye is all the charm needed: to such you are handsome enough; or rather your sternness has a power beyond beauty."
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
His honest black face, and the immense view before us, which carried us half-way back to the affluent of the Amazon, helped us to remember that we really were upon this earth in the twentieth century, and had not by some magic been conveyed to some raw planet in its earliest and wildest state.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
A file format consisting of a 10-byte header containing a magic number, a version number, and a timestamp, a Deflate-compressed body, and an 8-byte footer containing a checksum and the length of the original uncompressed data.
(gzip File Format, NCI Thesaurus)
Lead author Sally Wasef of Australia's Griffith University explained to the press, The ibis was considered to represent the god Thoth, the god of wisdom, the god of magic, the god of judgment, writing all sorts of things (...) If you had a boss that annoys you and you don't feel like you are getting a good judgment from him or you want fairness and justice, you go and ask Thoth to interfere and in return you promise to offer him an ibis, a mummified ibis, in his annual feast.
(Ancient Egyptians collected wild ibis birds for sacrifice, says study, Wikinews)
Venus and her celestial lover Mars will be in the right places in the sky to spin their magic for you and multiply your chances of enjoying romance this month.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)