magic definition - Dictionary

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magic

mag·ic [ májjik ]

noun

Definition:

1. conjuring tricks: conjuring tricks and illusions that make apparently impossible things seem to happen, usually performed as entertainment

2. inexplicable things: a special, mysterious, or inexplicable quality, talent, or skill

watched the dancer's feet work their magic

3. supposed supernatural power: a supposed supernatural power that makes impossible things happen or gives somebody control over the forces of nature. Magic is used in many cultures for healing, keeping away evil, seeking the truth, and for vengeful purposes.

4. practice of magic: the use of supposed supernatural power to make impossible things happen

adjective

Definition:

1. of or for magic: relating to magic or used in the working of magic

a magic potion

2. particularly important: particularly important or desirable

reach the magic number of 100 points

transitive verb (past and past participle mag·icked, present participle mag·ick·ing, 3rd person present singular mag·ics)

Definition:

subject something to magic: to make somebody or something seem to appear, disappear, change, or move by using magic

[14th century. Via Old French magique< Greek magikē< magos (see magus)]

like magic

1. inexplicably, as though by magic

2. rapidly

3. without obstacles or difficulties

Cultural Note


	The Magic Mountain, a novel (1924) by German writer Thomas Mann. It describes young engineer Hans Castorp's lengthy stay in a Swiss TB clinic. The clinic is a microcosm of European society at the time of World War I, with a cosmopolitan group of patients reflecting a range of contemporary political, philosophical, and scientific viewpoints.