image

American  

[im-ij] / ˈɪm ɪdʒ /

noun

• images
  plural

1. a physical likeness or representation of a person, animal, or thing, photographed, painted, sculptured, or otherwise made visible.

2. an optical counterpart or appearance of an object, as is produced by reflection from a mirror, refraction by a lens, or the passage of luminous rays through a small aperture and their reception on a surface.

   Synonyms:

   representation, figure, likeness

3. a mental representation; idea; conception.

   Synonyms:

   notion

4. Psychology. a mental representation of something previously perceived, in the absence of the original stimulus.

5. form; appearance; semblance.

   We are all created in God's image.

6. counterpart; copy.

   That child is the image of his mother.

   Synonyms:

   facsimile

   Antonyms:

   original

7. a symbol; emblem.

8. the general or public perception of a company, public figure, etc., especially as achieved by careful calculation aimed at creating widespread goodwill.

9. a type; embodiment.

   Red-faced and angry, he was the image of frustration.

10. a description of something in speech or writing.

    Keats created some of the most beautiful images in the language.

11. Rhetoric. a figure of speech, especially a metaphor or a simile.

12. an idol or representation of a deity.

    They knelt down before graven images.

13. Mathematics. the point or set of points in the range corresponding to a designated point in the domain of a given function.

14. Archaic. an illusion or apparition.

---

verb (used with object)

• images,
  present (3rd person singular)
• imaged,
  past participle,  past
• imaging
  present participle

1. to picture or represent in the mind; imagine; conceive.

2. to make an image of; portray in sculpture, painting, etc.

3. to project (photographs, film, etc.) on a surface.

   Familiar scenes were imaged on the screen.

4. to reflect the likeness of; mirror.

5. to set forth in speech or writing; describe.

6. to symbolize; typify.

7. to resemble.

8. Informal. to create an image for (a company, public figure, etc.).

   The candidate had to be imaged before being put on the campaign trail.

9. to transform (data) into an exact replica in a different form, as changing digital data to pixels for display on a screen or representing a medical scan of a body part in digital form.

image British  

/ ˈɪmɪdʒ /

noun

1. a representation or likeness of a person or thing, esp in sculpture

2. an optically formed reproduction of an object, such as one formed by a lens or mirror

3. a person or thing that resembles another closely; double or copy

4. a mental representation or picture; idea produced by the imagination

5. the personality presented to the public by a person, organization, etc See also corporate image

   a criminal charge is not good for a politician's image

6. the pattern of light that is focused on to the retina of the eye

7. psychol the mental experience of something that is not immediately present to the senses, often involving memory See also imagery body image hypnagogic image

8. a personification of a specified quality; epitome

   the image of good breeding

9. a mental picture or association of ideas evoked in a literary work, esp in poetry

10. a figure of speech, such as a simile or metaphor

11. maths

    1. (of a point) the value of a function, f( x ), corresponding to the point x

    2. the range of a function

12. an obsolete word for apparition

---

verb

1. to picture in the mind; imagine

2. to make or reflect an image of

3. computing to project or display on a screen or visual display unit

4. to portray or describe

5. to be an example or epitome of; typify

image Idioms  

1. see spitting image.

---

Synonym Usage

Image, icon, idol refer to material representations of persons or things. An image is a representation as in a statue or effigy, and is sometimes regarded as an object of worship: to set up an image of Apollo; an image of a saint. An icon, in the Greek or Eastern Orthodox Church, is a representation of Christ, an angel, or a saint, in painting, relief, mosaic, or the like: At least two icons are found in each church. An idol is an image, statue, or the like representing a deity and worshiped as such: a wooden idol; The heathen worship idols. It may be used figuratively: to make an idol of wealth.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• imager
  noun
• preimage
  noun
• reimage
  verb (used with object)
• imageable
  adjective
• imageless
  adjective
• unimaged
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• images
  plural

Participles

• imaging
  present
• imaged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• image
  simple
• images
  simple
• have imaged
  perfect
• has imaged
  perfect
• am imaging
  progressive
• are imaging
  progressive
• is imaging
  progressive
• have been imaging
  perfect progressive
• has been imaging
  perfect progressive

Past

• imaged
  simple
• had imaged
  perfect
• was imaging
  progressive
• were imaging
  progressive
• had been imaging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will image
  simple
• will have imaged
  perfect
• will be imaging
  progressive
• will have been imaging
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of image

First recorded in 1175–1225; (noun) Middle English from Old French image, imagene ( -ene apparently construed as suffix) from Latin imāgin-, stem of imāgō “a copy, likeness,” equivalent to im- ( cf. imitate) + -āgō noun suffix; (verb) Middle English: “to form a mental picture” from Old French imagier, derivative of image

Explanation

An image is a picture or other representation of a person or thing, or it can be someone's public perception, like a rock star who tries to change his image by dressing like a professor and learning to play chess. Image has its roots in the Latin word imitari, meaning "to copy or imitate"; images are judged by how realistically they capture the person or thing they show. Images come in various forms — portraits, photographs, paintings, and sculptures. Another kind of image is what we think a public figure like a celebrity is "really like." For example, a flat-broke former millionaire who wants to maintain his image as the money-spending life of the party.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

image images imaged imaging

Such activity resulted in at least 53 incidents where an OpenAI agent took an image from ChatGPT user activity and transferred it elsewhere.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

Not even “Predators” — the 2025 documentary on this very subject that not only beat “Primetime” to the punch but has far more to say about Hansen’s effect on culture — can complete the image.

From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026

"We’re grateful that the pope has blessed us so that we can create his image," 48-year-old worker Lener Mendoza said.

From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026

If you happen to be swimming in the Salish Sea at night and imagine tiny hairy legs creeping up your body, there is now at least one unsettling reason that image feels plausible.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 25, 2026

The image of the cabin stayed in her mind.

From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret

There are fresh challenges too: Volatile geopolitics have made business costlier and less predictable, while artificial intelligence now allows users to create photorealistic images by just typing words.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

The unusual structure was first noticed in images taken with the Isaac Newton Telescope in Spain.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 25, 2026

Within the new files, the MoD says it has identified thousands of potentially relevant documents, including images that appear to have been taken during a number of special forces operations under investigation by the inquiry.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

Deepfakes — fabricated AI-generated videos or images — pose an ever-growing threat.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026

But I have no memories of Suma’s life to help her, just these images.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

The map was made by cutting the fly brain into 66 pieces, each of which was imaged by repeated rounds of scanning.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

The Justice Department attorney told Frimpong that no personal phones had been imaged at that point, despite the fact that more than 800 officers indicated that they had used their personal phones during operations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

The newly confirmed Beta Pictoris d raises the system's known planet count to three, making Beta Pictoris only the second planetary system known to contain at least three imaged planets.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026

Using JWST's mid infrared instrument MIRI, the team directly imaged Epsilon Indi Ab.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 22, 2026

The particular activity that Reggie had undergone while his brain was being imaged in the tube is called a dual n-back test.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

And he’ll undergo imaging to diagnose the injury.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026

Excavators and thermal imaging cameras have been used at the scene to search for survivors.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

Among the arsenal of tools the snaggers use are drones, GoPro cameras, cavity cameras, thermal imaging equipment and laser levels.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

If a patient gets a positive test, they are instructed to undergo a cancer work-up, whether that’s imaging or biopsies.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

The organic chemistry results, like the imaging and microbiology results, are all consistent with no life in the fine particles of Chryse and Utopia in the late 1970’s.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Related Words

• appearance
• copy
• drawing
• figure
• form
• icon
• illustration
• likeness
• model
• photograph
• picture
• portrait
• statue