imagination
Americannoun
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imaginations
plural
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the faculty of imagining, or of forming mental images or concepts of what is not actually present to the senses.
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the action or process of forming such images or concepts.
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the faculty of producing ideal creations consistent with reality, as in literature, as distinct from the power of creating illustrative or decorative imagery.
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the product of imagining a conception or mental creation, often a baseless or fanciful one.
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ability to face and resolve difficulties; resourcefulness.
a job that requires imagination.
- Synonyms:
- thought, enterprise, ingenuity
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Psychology. the power of reproducing images stored in the memory under the suggestion of associated images reproductive imagination or of recombining former experiences in the creation of new images directed at a specific goal or aiding in the solution of problems creative imagination.
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(in Kantian epistemology) synthesis of data from the sensory manifold into objects by means of the categories.
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Archaic. a plan, scheme, or plot.
noun
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the faculty or action of producing ideas, esp mental images of what is not present or has not been experienced
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mental creative ability
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the ability to deal resourcefully with unexpected or unusual problems, circumstances, etc
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(in romantic literary criticism, esp that of S. T. Coleridge) a creative act of perception that joins passive and active elements in thinking and imposes unity on the poetic material Compare fancy
Synonym Usage
See fancy.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of imagination
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, Middle French, from Latin imāginātiōn- (stem of imāginātiō ) “mental image, fancy,” equivalent to imāgināt(us), past participle of the verb imāginārī imagine ( imāgin-, stem of imāgō image + -ātus -ate 1 ) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
Imagination refers to the process of forming images or concepts in the mind, often images of things that are not really there. That shark in your bathtub must have been in your imagination — or was it? Often shunned for living in a dream world, imagination is behind unicorns, Big Foot, and excessive daydreaming. But it’s humans’ ability to picture what is not there, and to be resourceful and creative, that is behind many of our achievements. Maybe that’s why Albert Einstein said “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” After all, without a little imagination, we wouldn’t have the pyramids, the space shuttles, or the Star Wars trilogy.
Vocabulary lists containing imagination
Creative Writing - Middle School
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General Terms, List 1
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Creative Writing - Introductory
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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.
See Examples For:
The top members of the Lantern Corps are only limited by their imagination.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
I was in a series of early failed rock and roll relationships, so my imagination was: Who killed that bird?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
How does the human brain produce abilities such as language, imagination, mathematics, and invention?
From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026
Who wouldn’t be astounded by such fruits of the imagination?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Was it just my imagination, or was the carriage swaying?
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
He also lambasted people’s preoccupation with possessing money as warping their imaginations and blinding them to the existence of more fulfilling possibilities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Their imaginations seem to have been fed on solely on “Starship Troopers” and little else except maybe some Tolkien.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 1, 2026
For the past year, defense and artificial intelligence have captured investors’ imaginations, leaving green energy out in the cold.
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
"We let our imaginations fly in a way that hopefully old and new fans will be able to enjoy."
From BBC ● May 7, 2026
Because of the lurid tales we read and our vivid imaginations and, probably, memories of our brief but hectic lives, Bailey and I were afflicted—he physically and I mentally.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
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.
