# genie

/ˈdʒini/ (US) · /dʒˈiːni/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/genie
Updated: 2026-08-15

## Senses

### 1. magical wish-granter

noun · CEFR B1

a magical character in stories who lives in a lamp or bottle and gives you three wishes when you let them out.

For teachers: a fictional magical being, often derived from the Arabic 'jinn', typically bound to a container and required to obey the individual who summons it.

- In the story, the boy rubbed the old lamp and a genie appeared to grant him three wishes.
- The protagonist inadvertently summoned a powerful genie after polishing an antique brass vessel he discovered in the marketplace.

### 2. mythological spirit

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

a spirit from Middle Eastern myths that can be good or bad and is usually invisible to people.

For teachers: a spirit in Islamic and Middle Eastern mythology, created from smokeless fire, capable of assuming human or animal form.

- Ancient legends describe the genie as a powerful spirit that lives in the desert.
- Scholars of folklore distinguish between the Westernised 'genie' of fairy tales and the complex theological nature of the jinn in classical literature.

## Examples

- The genie granted him three wishes after he rubbed the lamp.
- In the classic fairy tale, the protagonist discovers a dusty lamp containing a powerful genie.
- The metaphor of the genie being out of the bottle is frequently used in political discourse to describe a situation where a new development cannot be reversed.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.