imagine

American  

[ih-maj-in] / ɪˈmædʒ ɪn /

verb (used with object)

imagined, imagining

1. to form a mental image of (something not actually present to the senses).

   Synonyms:

   picture, image

2. to think, believe, or fancy.

   He imagined the house was haunted.

3. to assume; suppose.

   I imagine they'll be here soon.

4. to conjecture; guess.

   I cannot imagine what you mean.

5. Archaic. to plan, scheme, or plot.

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verb (used without object)

imagined, imagining

1. to form mental images of things not present to the senses; use the imagination.

2. to suppose; think; conjecture.

imagine British  

/ ɪˈmædʒɪn /

verb

1. (when tr, may take a clause as object) to form a mental image of

2. (when tr, may take a clause as object) to think, believe, or guess

3. (tr; takes a clause as object) to suppose; assume

   I imagine he'll come

4. (tr; takes a clause as object) to believe or assume without foundation

   he imagines he knows the whole story

5. an archaic word for plot 1

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1. Also: imagine that!.  an exclamation of surprise

Usage

What does imagine mean? To imagine is to form a mental likeness of something or someone not present, as in Imagine flying in a rocket to Mars. To imagine also means to think of something, especially in a way that it is not currently, as in Imagine what the house might look like after all these years. To imagine is also to assume, as in Oh dear, the teacher imagined that we all did our homework. Finally, to imagine can mean to guess, as in Can you imagine what it would be like for it to snow in the summer?Example: I can’t imagine they will take much longer, so we should just wait here.

Related Words

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.

Other Word Forms

• imaginable
  adjective
• imaginably
  adverb
• imaginer
  noun
• preimagine
  verb (used with object)
• reimagine
  verb (used with object)
• unimagined
  adjective
• well-imagined
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of imagine

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English imaginen from Middle French imaginer from Latin imāginārī, equivalent to imāgin- (stem of imāgō ) image + -ā- thematic vowel + -rī infinitive ending

Explanation

To imagine something is to picture it in your head. When we imagine things, we're using our imagination. The word image is a good clue to the meaning of imagine, a word for picturing or envisioning things. You could imagine you're a king, an astronaut, a firefighter, or a coyote. You could imagine the earth getting hit by an asteroid. If you can think of it, you can imagine it. Sometimes, imagining means believing or guessing. For example, your teacher could say, "Did you really imagine there would be no homework?"

Example Sentences

"I remember seeing him play, and he had great potential. You can only imagine how isolated he must have been in Sunderland at that time," says Hern.

From BBC • May 27, 2026

“Can you imagine, you get a wild animal from nature and put four walls around the animal, for people to get inside, drink coffee, and touch them?” asks Aidar.

From Slate • May 27, 2026

“It doesn’t look like what you would imagine a sports car to be,” said Elkann.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026

A simple way to imagine this is like making two photocopies of a document but accidentally placing both copies into the same folder instead of separating them.

From Science Daily • May 25, 2026

As I walked between the shelves, it was easy to imagine I was back in the palatial Academy library with its levels upon levels of books.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin