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View synonyms for

imagination

[ ih-maj-uh-ney-shuhn ]

noun

  1. the faculty of imagining, or of forming mental images or concepts of what is not actually present to the senses.
  2. the action or process of forming such images or concepts.
  3. the faculty of producing ideal creations consistent with reality, as in literature, as distinct from the power of creating illustrative or decorative imagery. Compare fancy ( def 9 ).
  4. the product of imagining a conception or mental creation, often a baseless or fanciful one.
  5. ability to face and resolve difficulties; resourcefulness:

    a job that requires imagination.

    Synonyms: , ,

  6. Psychology. the power of reproducing images stored in the memory under the suggestion of associated images reproductive imagination or of recombining former experiences in the creation of new images directed at a specific goal or aiding in the solution of problems creative imagination.
  7. (in Kantian epistemology) synthesis of data from the sensory manifold into objects by means of the categories.
  8. Archaic. a plan, scheme, or plot.


imagination

/ ɪˌæɪˈԱɪʃə /

noun

  1. the faculty or action of producing ideas, esp mental images of what is not present or has not been experienced
  2. mental creative ability
  3. the ability to deal resourcefully with unexpected or unusual problems, circumstances, etc
  4. (in romantic literary criticism, esp that of S. T. Coleridge) a creative act of perception that joins passive and active elements in thinking and imposes unity on the poetic material Compare fancy
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˌˈԲپDzԲ, adjective
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Other Word Forms

  • ·i·ԲtDz· adjective
  • ԴDzi·i·ԲtDz· adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of imagination1

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, Middle French, from Latin 岵پō- (stem of 岵پō ) “mental image, fancy,” equivalent to 岵(ܲ), past participle of the verb 岵ī imagine ( 岵-, stem of 岵ō image + -ٳܲ -ate 1 ) + -ō- -ion
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Idioms and Phrases

see figment of one's imagination .
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Synonym Study

See fancy.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

But when it comes to public health, he said, “what we’ve learned over the past few months is that our imagination needs to be larger for what is possible.”

From

It was not long before the spectacle of the London Marathon captured his imagination and he nagged his parents to help him peer over the barriers for a closer look at the elites.

From

The theater proves that it can do nearly anything the cinema can do with the right design team, directorial imagination and technological know-how.

From

Harrison: Go for it, and let your imagination run wild.

From

The club - nicknamed the Bees - have already captured the imagination this season by reaching the FA Cup second round for the first time and having former Brazilian international Sandro play for them.

From

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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