To conjure means to make something appear as if by magic. A magician might conjure a rabbit from an empty hat, or conjure up a bouquet of flowers from thin air. The word carries that sense of creating something seemingly out of nothing, with a mysterious or magical quality.

Beyond stage magic, conjure describes bringing things powerfully to mind or into being through imagination and effort. When you conjure an image in your mind, you create a vivid mental picture. If someone mentions “summer vacation,” you might conjure memories of swimming pools and fireflies. Writers conjure entire worlds through their words, making readers see, hear, and feel places that exist only on the page.

Today, when someone says a smell conjures a memory, they mean it brings that memory powerfully to mind, almost as if summoning it from the past.

You might hear someone say they're trying to conjure up a solution to a problem, meaning they're working hard to create or discover an answer that isn't obvious. Conjuring suggests effort combined with a touch of creativity or inspiration, like pulling just the right idea out of thin air when you need it most.