imagine
[ih-maj-in]
- to form a mental image of (something not actually present to the senses).
- to think, believe, or fancy: He imagined the house was haunted.
- to assume; suppose: I imagine they'll be here soon.
- to conjecture; guess: I cannot imagine what you mean.
- Archaic. to plan, scheme, or plot.
- to form mental images of things not present to the senses; use the imagination.
- to suppose; think; conjecture.
Origin of imagine
1300–50; Middle English imaginen < Middle French imaginer < Latin imāginārī, equivalent to imāgin- (stem of imāgō) image + -ā- thematic vowel + -rī infinitive ending
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com1. image, picture. Imagine, conceive, conceive of, realize refer to bringing something before the mind. To imagine is, literally, to form a mental image of something: to imagine yourself in London. To conceive is to form something by using one's imagination: How has the author conceived the first act of his play? To conceive of is to comprehend through the intellect something not perceived through the senses: Wilson conceived of a world free from war. To realize is to make an imagined thing real or concrete to oneself, to grasp fully its implications: to realize the extent of one's folly.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for reimagine
Contemporary Examples
The cult of corporatism allows us to reimagine the corporation as our ultimate access point to the infinitude of possibility.
No doubt another Broadway generation will one day find a different, equally exciting way to reimagine this classic.
The students really learn to read, criticize, and reimagine works of history.
And we are defined by a democratic discourse that allows each generation to reimagine and renew our union once more.
He had the foresight to reimagine the American department store.
imagine
- (when tr, may take a clause as object) to form a mental image of
- (when tr, may take a clause as object) to think, believe, or guess
- (tr; takes a clause as object) to suppose; assumeI imagine he'll come
- (tr; takes a clause as object) to believe or assume without foundationhe imagines he knows the whole story
- an archaic word for plot 1
- Also: imagine that! an exclamation of surprise
Word Origin
C14: from Latin imāginārī to fancy, picture mentally, from imāgō likeness; see image
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
Word Origin and History for reimagine
imagine
v.
mid-14c., "to form a mental image of," from Old French imaginer "sculpt, carve, paint; decorate, embellish" (13c.), from Latin imaginari "to form a mental picture to oneself, imagine" (also, in Late Latin imaginare "to form an image of, represent"), from imago (see image). Sense of "suppose" is first recorded late 14c. Related: Imagined; imagining.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper