envisage
Americanverb
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to form a mental image of; visualize; contemplate
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to conceive of as a possibility in the future; foresee
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archaic to look in the face of; confront
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
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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envisagesimple
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envisagessimple
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have envisagedperfect
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has envisagedperfect
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am envisagingprogressive
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are envisagingprogressive
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is envisagingprogressive
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have been envisagingperfect progressive
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has been envisagingperfect progressive
Past
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envisagedsimple
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had envisagedperfect
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was envisagingprogressive
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were envisagingprogressive
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had been envisagingperfect progressive
Future
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:
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.
Vocabulary lists containing envisage
Fidel Castro (1926-2016) Memorial List
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English Words Derived from French, List 7
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Harry Truman's Inauguration Address
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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:
“However, we still envisage another rate hike before the year-end.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 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
He can envisage them generating enough cash to erase their debt or launch significant share buybacks, he said.
From MarketWatch ● May 7, 2026
It's hard to envisage a lightning bolt at this stage.
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 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 group, currently numbering 12, envisages growing food to sell, holding workshops and retreats - and even setting up a "granny agency" to look after children.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
Prime Minister Mark Carney said the trade arrangement with China, which also involves lower tariffs on Canadian agricultural products, envisages increased investment by Chinese EV makers in the Canada economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026
The "Hamburg Declaration" signed on Monday envisages that 100 GW of the targeted 300 GW will be quickly delivered through an "unprecedented fleet of joint offshore wind projects".
From Barron's ● Jan. 26, 2026
He envisages huge efficiency gains to be derived from its incorporation into business operations and practices.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 26, 2026
Rapid Dominance envisages the execution of specific actions in real or near real time to counter actions or intentions deemed detrimental to U.S. interests.
From Shock and Awe — Achieving Rapid Dominance by James P. Wade
None of this was envisaged in the plans for Vision 2030.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 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
Carney said that as envisaged, about a third, or 40, of the GlobalEye produced would be assembled in Canada, creating about 3,000 jobs in the aerospace sector—a good chunk of it in Quebec.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026
Amid the Brazilian's collapse in form, Mainoo ended up battling for a start with Casemiro, which wasn't a situation he envisaged.
From BBC ● May 17, 2026
Fairies, as envisaged by the Muggle, inhabit tiny dwellings fashioned out o f flower petals, hollowed-out toadstools and similar.
From "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling
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
Nick Mackenzie, the boss of pub chain Greene King, told the BBC's Today programme the rise in the minimum wage was "slightly higher than we were envisaging".
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2024
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
“I don’t want a fuss,” said Harry quickly, envisaging the additional strain this would put on them all.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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.
