What does conjury mean?
Conjury is a noun denoting the art of performing magic — the repertoire of illusions, sleights, and deceptions that stage magicians practise before an audience. It is closely related to the more everyday words 'conjuring' and 'magic', but carries a slightly formal, old-fashioned tone that suits historical writing, theatrical programmes, or literary prose. Historically the term had a graver meaning: it could refer to the supposed invocation of spirits through ritual and incantation, a practice regarded with fear and suspicion in earlier centuries. Both senses trace back to the same source — the Latin 'coniurare', to swear together or invoke — which also underlies 'conjure', 'adjure', and 'perjury'. Today conjury is chiefly encountered in discussions of stage performance and entertainment, where it evokes the craft of making the impossible appear real.
The art or practice of performing magic tricks and illusions.
"His lifelong fascination with conjury began when a street performer vanished a coin before his eyes."
(Archaic) The act of invoking spirits or supernatural forces, typically by incantation or ritual.
"The treatise condemned all forms of conjury as dealings best left unattempted."
Rarely used in the plural; the word almost always appears in the singular as an uncountable term for the art itself.
"The archive preserves manuscripts describing the conjuries attributed to famous magicians of the era."
Before it was a word for stage magic, 'conjury' carried the darker sense of invoking spirits — the same Latin oath that gave us 'perjury' once powered acts of summoning.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of conjury
Conjury derives ultimately from the Latin 'coniurare', meaning to swear together, conspire, or invoke by oath — a compound of 'com-' (together) and 'iurare' (to swear). This same root produced 'conjure' and, through related formations, 'adjure' and 'perjury'. The word entered English via forms influenced by Old French during the medieval period, first carrying the serious sense of spirit-invocation and magical practice, and later narrowing toward the theatrical sense of performing tricks and illusions that predominates today.
Related word forms
How conjury is actually used
A somewhat formal or literary word; in everyday speech 'magic' or 'conjuring' is far more common. The older sense relating to the invocation of spirits survives mainly in historical contexts.
Easily confused with conjury
'Conjure' is a verb meaning to perform magic tricks or to summon something as if by magic, while 'conjury' is the noun denoting the art or practice itself.