conceive
Americanverb (used with object)
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to form (a notion, opinion, purpose, etc.).
He conceived the project while he was on vacation.
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to form a notion or idea of; imagine.
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to hold as an opinion; think; believe.
I can't conceive that it would be of any use.
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to experience or form (a feeling).
to conceive a great love for music.
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to express, as in words.
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to become pregnant with.
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to beget.
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to begin, originate, or found (something) in a particular way (usually used in the passive).
a new nation conceived in liberty.
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Archaic. to understand; comprehend.
verb (used without object)
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to form an idea; think (usually followed byof ).
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to become pregnant.
verb
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to have an idea (of); imagine; think
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(tr; takes a clause as object or an infinitive) to hold as an opinion; believe
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(tr) to develop or form, esp in the mind
she conceived a passion for music
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to become pregnant with (young)
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rare (tr) to express in words
Related Words
See imagine.
Other Word Forms
- conceiver noun
- nonconceiving noun
- reconceive verb
Etymology
Origin of conceive
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English from Anglo-French, Old French conceivre, from Latin concipere “to take fully, take in,” equivalent to con- con- + -cipere, combining form of capere “to take”
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.
She and her partner, Beth, have two children - James, and their eldest Kate - both conceived through IVF treatment at a clinic in Northern Cyprus.
From BBC
But that agenda is also profoundly narcissistic and poorly conceived, not to mention managed by shameless lickspittles whose only authentic job skill lies in praising the boss.
From Salon
But she hasn’t conceived the teen as anything more than a blunt symbol of pubescent awkwardness.
From Los Angeles Times
Back then, nobody could conceive of humankind being connected by machines that also facilitated our disconnection from each other.
From Salon
The film might be too much to bear if it wasn’t so brilliantly conceived and executed.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
