genie

play

noun ge·nie \ ˈjē-nē \

Definition of genie

plural genies also genii play \ˈjē-nē(-ˌī)\

1 :jinni 1

2 :a magic spirit believed to take human form and serve the person who calls it

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See genie defined for kids

Examples of genie in a Sentence

He rubbed the magic lamp to summon the genie.

Recent Examples of genie from the Web

To be sure, geopolitics still plays a role in Asia travel, and Chinese tourist numbers to Japan and South Korea ebb and flow with the political temperature, but the genie is way out of the bottle.

— chicagotribune.com, "The decline of the Western tourist," 24 Aug. 2017
The winner for a reason — this baby is damn near close to a skin-care genie in a bottle.

— macaela mackenzie, Allure, "SkinStore's 9 Best-Rated Products Are on Sale Right Now," 18 Aug. 2017
This may not be a genie Cloudflare can stuff back into the bottle.

— timothy b. lee, Ars Technica, "Cloudflare CEO says his Daily Stormer takedown was “arbitrary” and “dangerous”," 17 Aug. 2017
Genie Will Smith has some huge shoes to fill following in the footsteps of the legendary comedian Robin Williams as the genie.

— noelle devoe, Seventeen, "Here's Who's Been Cast in the "Aladdin" Live-Action Remake So Far," 9 Aug. 2017
The nuclear genie by then was out of the bottle, and North Korea had little incentive to give up its stash of plutonium, no matter what the United States and its negotiating allies offered.

— glenn kessler, Washington Post, "History lesson: Why did Bill Clinton’s North Korea deal fail?," 9 Aug. 2017
Disney has cast Dutch-Tunisian actor Marwan Kenzari as the evil vizier Jafar in its live-action adaptation of Aladdin, which has Mena Massoud in the title role, Power Rangers actress Naomi Scott as Jasmine, and Will Smith as the genie.

— jackson mchenry, The Cut, "Disney’s Live-Action Aladdin Casts Marwan Kenzari As (a Very Hot) Jafar, and Nasim Pedrad As Jasmine’s Friend," 4 Aug. 2017
If a deal makes, Kenzari will play Jafar, the vizier to the sultan of the city who wants to use the genie for his own nefarious plan of taking power.

— borys kit, The Hollywood Reporter, "Disney's Live-Action 'Aladdin' Finds Its Jafar (Exclusive)," 4 Aug. 2017
To be clear, Aladdin—the story of a rough-and-tumble kid from the streets who enlists a genie to win the love of Princess Jasmine—is set in fictional Agrabah, but it's largely seen as representing a Middle Eastern city.

— claire zillman, Fortune, "Disney’s ‘Aladdin’ Remake Is Facing Backlash for Casting a Non-Arab Actress as Jasmine," 17 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'genie.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of genie

French génie, from Arabic jinnī

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First Known Use: 1706

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GENIE Defined for English Language Learners

genie

play

noun

Definition of genie for English Language Learners

in stories : a magic spirit that looks like a person, often lives in a lamp or bottle, and serves the person who calls it

GENIE Defined for Kids

genie

play

noun ge·nie \ ˈjē-nē \

Definition of genie for Students

:a magic spirit believed to take human form and serve the person who calls it

Learn More about genie

See words that rhyme with genie Spanish Central: Translation of genie Nglish: Translation of genie for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about genie

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