envisage

American  

[en-viz-ij] / ɛnˈvɪz ɪdʒ /

verb (used with object)

• envisages,
  present (3rd person singular)
• envisaged,
  past participle,  past
• envisaging
  present participle

1. to contemplate; visualize.

   He envisages an era of great scientific discoveries.

   Synonyms:

   envision, conceive, imagine, picture

2. Archaic. to look in the face of; face.

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envisage British  

/ ɪnˈvɪzɪdʒ /

verb

1. to form a mental image of; visualize; contemplate

2. to conceive of as a possibility in the future; foresee

3. archaic to look in the face of; confront

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Usage

It was formerly considered incorrect to use a clause after envisage as in it is envisaged that the new centre will cost £40 million , but this use is now acceptable

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• envisagement
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• envisaging
  present
• envisaged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• envisage
  simple
• envisages
  simple
• have envisaged
  perfect
• has envisaged
  perfect
• am envisaging
  progressive
• are envisaging
  progressive
• is envisaging
  progressive
• have been envisaging
  perfect progressive
• has been envisaging
  perfect progressive

Past

• envisaged
  simple
• had envisaged
  perfect
• was envisaging
  progressive
• were envisaging
  progressive
• had been envisaging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will envisage
  simple
• will have envisaged
  perfect
• will be envisaging
  progressive
• will have been envisaging
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of envisage

From the French word envisager, dating back to 1810–20. See en- ¹, visage

Compare meaning

How does envisage compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• envisage vs. envision

Explanation

Martin Luther King Jr. envisaged a time when black and white Americans would no longer be segregated by race. To envisage is to imagine something that does not yet exist. The words envisage and envision share the same Latin root meaning to see. Both words are very similar in meaning but do have slight shades of difference. If you envision something happening, you can see it happening in your mind. I'm sure you can envision yourself graduating from high school! If you envisage something, you can imagine it, but not necessarily see it. You can envisage world peace, but it may be harder to envision it.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

envisage envisages envisaged envisaging

Do you envisage a full return of cargo after Hormuz reopens?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

“However, we still envisage another rate hike before the year-end.”

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

It has led some in Parliament to envisage a scenario where Nigel Farage fights and wins one by-election, only to be confronted by another.

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026

The plans, which still need to be approved by parliament, envisage Europe's biggest economy spending more than projected just a few months ago and also taking on greater debt.

From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026

Indeed, it used to be thought that Brunelleschi had produced his demonstration images around 1425 simply because scholars wanted to envisage these images as immediately provoking new art and new theories.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

The plan envisages slashing the three states' collective water consumption by up to 3.7 billion cubic meters per year until 2036 -- the equivalent of 1.5 million Olympic-sized swimming pools.

From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026

Enbridge’s expansion project envisages adding about 90 miles of new pipeline that connects to the main corridor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

Then the budget envisages 2% annual reductions in NDD, totaling $2.5 trillion over the decade.

From Barron's ● Apr. 10, 2026

He envisages huge efficiency gains to be derived from its incorporation into business operations and practices.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 26, 2026

Naturally, none of them envisages the possibility of atmospheric substance changing into the heat-condition and back again.

From Man or Matter by Ernst Lehrs

This dreadful defeat was not the start he or the Spurs power brokers envisaged.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

The original legislation had envisaged that from September all those under-15 would not be able to open accounts, and verification would be required on all new accounts.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

He said, however, that the government he envisaged forming after elections would help complete Israel's regional ambitions.

From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026

The deal followed a similar agreement with Nissan that envisaged a potentially earlier launch in Japan.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026

He recognized that my life was starting in earnest and would take a different course from the one he had envisaged and planned for.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

They also establish a strict obligation for migrants subject to expulsion to leave and cooperate with authorities, envisaging harsher penalties, including detention, for those who refuse to do so.

From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026

In a final, unsent letter, addressed to Maximilien Robespierre, she wrote, “speak; it is something to know one’s fate, and with a soul like mine, one is capable of envisaging it.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026

"Even with regard to former militaries and combatants, if they can be classified in such a way, and even for them we are envisaging an amnesty or alluding to an amnesty as well," Hajiyev said.

From Reuters ● Sep. 22, 2023

Attempts to avoid the measurement problem—for example, by envisaging a reality in which quantum states don’t collapse at all—have led physicists into strange terrain where measurement outcomes can be subjective.

From Scientific American ● May 22, 2023

For them, as we saw in Chapter 9, the argument from design depended on envisaging the universe as manufactured, rather than on showing nature itself to be purposive.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton