illusionist

1 of 2

noun

il·lu·sion·ist i-ˈlü-zh(ə-)nist

Synonyms of illusionist

: a person who produces illusory effects: such as

: a sleight-of-hand performer or a magician

: one (such as an artist) whose work is marked by illusionism

illusionistic

i-ˌlü-zhə-ˈni-stik

adjective

illusionistically

i-ˌlü-zhə-ˈni-sti-k(ə-)lē

adverb

illusionistic

2 of 2

adjective

il·lu·sion·is·tic

: of, relating to, or marked by illusionism

illusionistic devices have been abundant in sculpture—P. A. Sorokin

illusionistically adverb

… constructions that mix illusionistically rendered objects with geometric abstraction … —Jack Flam, Wall Street Journal, 9 Mar. 1988

Synonyms of illusionist

Relevance

Noun

magician

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of illusionist in a Sentence

Noun tried to figure out how the illusionist made his assistant disappear from the stage

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Noun

Sawing a person in half is an illusionist’s staple. — Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 18 June 2026 Magician Andi Gladwin leads an unlikely team of illusionists on an international caper to track down the culprits. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 16 Apr. 2026 Tuesday's episode of America's Got Talent featured illusionists Young and Strange. — Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 17 June 2026 Even the most skeptical viewer may be susceptible to the distractions of a particularly charismatic or chatty illusionist, right? — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 1 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for illusionist

Word History

Etymology

Noun

illusion + -ist entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1850, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of illusionist was in 1850

See more words from the same year

Browse Nearby Words

illusionism

illusionist

illusionistic

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Illusionist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/illusionist. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

illusionist

noun

il·lu·sion·ist i-ˈlü-zhə-nist

: a person who produces illusions

especially : a performer of sleight of hand or a magician

illusionist

noun

adjective

Synonyms of illusionist

Examples of illusionist in a Sentence

Word History

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition

More from Merriam-Webster on illusionist

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

perfunctory

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Popular in Wordplay

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes