SYNONYMS | EXAMPLES | WORD ORIGIN verb (used with object), en·vis·aged, en·vis·ag·ing. to contemplate; visualize: He envisages an era of great scientific discoveries.
Archaic to look in the face of; face.
Origin of envisage From the
French word
envisager, dating back to
1810–20. See
en-1 ,
visage Related forms en·vis·age·ment , noun Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for envisage Contemporary Examples of envisage All three envisage Assad staying in power—at least in the short term.
In a darkened movie theater, we allow filmmakers to deliver into our minds a false world to envisage .
He triumphed because he had the moral imagination to envisage a relationship beyond confrontation and war.
Does he envisage the possibility of a political stalemate in Iraq?
Historical Examples of envisage And he was horror enough for any man in my circumstances to envisage .
Vainly I rack my brains to envisage the manner of their passing.
Polter continued standing, I could envisage his sardonic grin.
He did not at first envisage his own plight in definite and comprehensible terms.
Desperately I tried to envisage a situation so utterly beyond reason.
British Dictionary definitions for envisage verb (tr) to form a mental image of; visualize; contemplate
to conceive of as a possibility in the future; foresee
archaic to look in the face of; confront
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Derived Forms envisagement , noun Word Origin for envisage C19: from French envisager, from en- 1 + visage face, visage
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
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for envisage v. 1778, from French envisager "look in the face of," from en- "cause to" (see en- (1)) + visage "face" (see visage ). Related: Envisaged ; envisaging .
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
