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

Explanation

Picture this: imagery is a noun to describe the way things or ideas seem in your mind or in art or literature. Imagery comes from image and originally referred to physical things like statues. Now it is more often used of an artist's or writer's depictions ("Shakespeare's imagery shows a wide knowledge of the world") or of the pictures of the world in someone's mind. Think of imagery as being the stockpile of your imagination. If the imagery in your dreams is a little scary, it might be time to stop eating those spicy meatball sandwiches right before bedtime.

Example Sentences

Then I started thinking about summer imagery: ‘Folks get down in the sunshine, folks get brown in the sunshine, just bees and things and flowers.’

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

The most recent clear Landsat image covering the full area was captured about a year after the dramatic retreat occurred because cloud free imagery from the previous March was unavailable.

From Science Daily • May 19, 2026

Coverage from the event highlighted patriotic imagery, Christian iconography and large displays combining crosses, American symbolism and references to the country’s founding.

From Salon • May 17, 2026

"And then too it was growing up in that industrial city, surrounded by car manufacturing, that inspired his imagery of car parts, which he took apart and reassembled in the paintings."

From BBC • May 17, 2026

"How will we know from imagery what's broken?"

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

Related Words

• symbolism