Confusing 3---Abjure, adjure and conjure

By Ranjana S

Abjure

Abjure comes via Middle English and Old French from Latin abjurare, ' to deny on oath'. To abjure means ‘to refrain from or abstain from or repudiate or to renounce or give up or reject, as if under oath. He has a history of taking drugs, but is reformed and now abjures taking them. Here the act is directed to oneself.

Adjure

Adjure comes via Middle English from Latin adjurare, 'to swear'.It carries the same sense of abjure-as if under oath', but in this case the act is directed towards something or someone else rather than away from oneself. To adjure means ' to entreat or command earnestly, as if under an oath.' The other words for adjure are beg,entreat, implore.

‘The loving wife adjured her husband to keep his spirits high.'

Conjure 

Conjure comes from the Old and Middle English from Medieval Latin conjurare, 'to invoke with incantations or oaths' to swear together, conspire'. To conjure can mean' to call upon or entreat solemnly, especially by oath' which almost means adjure. The difference is that conjuration of someone carries the implication of 'conspiracy'.

He conjured his friend to join him to vote out the reformers.

Conjure also means to call upon a devil or evil spirit by magic or incantation.'

There are extended meanings of the verb : conjure- 'to perform magic tricks' and 'to cause or effect as if by magic'. The arguments seemed endless until the CEO arrived and conjured all the problems.

The phrase 'to conjure up' means, to bring to pass or to bring to existence, as if by magic'-- Samantha conjured up a dinner at an hour's notice- or to evoke:

The President 's speech conjured up an utopia of freedom, justice, and equality.