imagery

American  

[im-ij-ree, im-i-juh-ree] / ˈɪm ɪdʒ ri, ˈɪm ɪ dʒə ri /

noun

plural

imageries

1. the formation of mental images, figures, or likenesses of things, or of such images collectively.

   the dim imagery of a dream.

2. pictorial images, as in works of art.

3. the use of rhetorical images.

4. figurative description or illustration; rhetorical images collectively.

5. Psychology. mental images collectively, especially those produced by the action of imagination.

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imagery British  

/ ˈɪmɪdʒrɪ, -dʒərɪ /

noun

1. figurative or descriptive language in a literary work

2. images collectively

3. psychol

   1. the materials or general processes of the imagination

   2. the characteristic kind of mental images formed by a particular individual See also image imagination

4. military the presentation of objects reproduced photographically (by infrared or electronic means) as prints or electronic displays

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imagery Cultural  

1. The mental pictures created by a piece of writing: “The imagery of “The Waste Land” — crumbling towers, dried-up wells, toppled tombstones — conveys the author's sense of a civilization in decay.”

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Other Word Forms

• imagerial adjective
• imagerially adverb

Etymology

Origin of imagery

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English imagerie, from Old French, equivalent to image + -ery

Example Sentences

By combining satellite observations, ground imagery, and direct measurements from sounding rockets, scientists can examine the system from multiple angles at once.

From Science Daily

The site’s imagery—replete with barrel curls, pink cowboy boots and milkmaid dresses—sketches an ideal of a modern conservative woman: a churchgoing, city-dwelling young mother who is employed and upwardly mobile.

From The Wall Street Journal

Directors Hammerling and Baghdadi don’t have a huge mystery on their hands, and the direction and choice of imagery and editing generate a sense of ethereal wonder and elusiveness, rather than suspense or high drama.

From The Wall Street Journal

Meta couldn’t comment on the call for a probe, but said it takes an extremely strong stance against nonconsensual intimate imagery, which it removes when detected.

From The Wall Street Journal

Department of Veterans Affairs to treat PTSD, helped her pack the imagery into long-term memory.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• symbolism