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
Millicent Angel, 24, says it is hard to envisage a future when the world feels "so unstable" but she still definitely wants children.
From BBC ● 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
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
Before leaving for Barcelona this summer, he played up front for Newcastle at times last season and has previously said that, in time, he envisages playing more centrally.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
He envisages huge efficiency gains to be derived from its incorporation into business operations and practices.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 26, 2026
The latter envisages closer cooperation in areas including maritime security, cybersecurity and counter-terrorism, an EU official said.
From Barron's ● Jan. 24, 2026
The U.S.-backed peace plan envisages the exchange of the remaining prisoners on an “all-for-all” basis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025
Naturally, none of them envisages the possibility of atmospheric substance changing into the heat-condition and back again.
From Man or Matter by Lehrs, Ernst
“If developments turn out as currently envisaged, the policy rate will be raised at one of the forthcoming monetary policy meetings,” said Norges Bank Gov. Ida Wolden Bache.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
Even the most devoted Hull City fan could not have envisaged their season ending like this.
From BBC ● May 23, 2026
The "long term scope for further revenue increases is becoming limited unless fundamental tax reforms are envisaged", it said.
From BBC ● May 18, 2026
Macron said later Sunday that France had had "never envisaged" a naval deployment in the Strait of Hormuz but rather a security mission that would be "coordinated with Iran".
From Barron's ● May 10, 2026
Despite my hours of freedom, the summer was not proceeding as I’d envisaged.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
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... combatants... we are envisaging an amnesty or alluding to an amnesty," he 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
“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.
