Imagination Definition & Meaning

American

British

Idioms

Related Words

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms imagination American [ih-maj-uh-ney-shuhn] / ɪˌmædʒ əˈneɪ ʃən /

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.

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: thought, enterprise, ingenuity

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 British / ɪˌmædʒɪˈneɪʃən /

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 imagination Idioms

1. see figment of one's imagination.

Related Words

See fancy.

Other Word Forms

• imaginational adjective
• nonimaginational adjective

Etymology

Origin of imagination

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, Middle French, from Latin imāginātiōn- (stem of imāginātiō ) “mental image, fancy,” equivalent to imāgināt(us), past participle of the verb imāginārī imagine ( imāgin-, stem of imāgō image + -ātus -ate 1 ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A remarkable, chaotic, mesmerising Premier League thriller at Old Trafford captured the imagination even of the clinical operators in the dugout.

From BBC

He knew that public policy, like storytelling, requires imagination, discipline and persistence.

From Los Angeles Times

But the company’s plan for bringing small modular nuclear reactors to market has captured investors’ imagination.

From MarketWatch

Because the film often leaves the viewer unsure if what’s happening is real or just Grace’s imagination, Grimes had to strike a delicate tonal balance with the setting.

From Los Angeles Times

His biggest fear, as creator of worlds, is losing imagination because of the endless torrent of algorithms.

From BBC

Related Words

• artistry
• awareness
• fancy
• fantasy
• idea
• image
• imagery
• ingenuity
• insight
• inspiration
• intelligence
• inventiveness
• originality
• resourcefulness
• thought
• vision
• wit

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.