imagery

American  

[im-ij-ree, im-i-juh-ree] / ˈɪm ɪdʒ ri, ˈɪm ɪ dʒə ri /

noun

plural

imageries

1. the formation of mental images, figures, or likenesses of things, or of such images collectively.

   the dim imagery of a dream.

2. pictorial images, as in works of art.

3. the use of rhetorical images.

4. figurative description or illustration; rhetorical images collectively.

5. Psychology. mental images collectively, especially those produced by the action of imagination.

---

imagery British  

/ ˈɪmɪdʒrɪ, -dʒərɪ /

noun

1. figurative or descriptive language in a literary work

2. images collectively

3. psychol

   1. the materials or general processes of the imagination

   2. the characteristic kind of mental images formed by a particular individual See also image imagination

4. military the presentation of objects reproduced photographically (by infrared or electronic means) as prints or electronic displays

---

imagery Cultural  

1. The mental pictures created by a piece of writing: “The imagery of “The Waste Land” — crumbling towers, dried-up wells, toppled tombstones — conveys the author's sense of a civilization in decay.”

---

Other Word Forms

• imagerial adjective
• imagerially adverb

Etymology

Origin of imagery

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English imagerie, from Old French, equivalent to image + -ery

Example Sentences

The dazzling display of lights, accompanied by religious and festive imagery and soundtracked by Filipino rap and Christmas carols, is part of the annual Giant Lantern Festival.

From Barron's

One of these said alterations had been "clearly shown" using Google Earth satellite imagery, which Mr Milne said was a "breach of the aforesaid covenant".

From BBC

A Primal Scream concert has been cancelled over claims antisemitic imagery was shown on stage at a previous gig.

From BBC

Some analysts have suggested that count might overestimate the damage, based on satellite imagery.

From The Wall Street Journal

“But when I saw the finished film, I realized that this imagery was too dark. So we went in a different direction and focused more on the surface, the trees that are growing above land.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• symbolism