imagery

American  

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

noun

• imageries
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• imagerial
  adjective
• imagerially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• imageries
  plural

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

See Examples For:

imagery imageries

Even zoomed-out satellite imagery of western France shows a striking increase in the browning of land compared to last year.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

But political imagery is not entirely under the politician’s control.

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026

Hilton, Lohan and their ilk infiltrated these scenes as well, and to hear Willetts tell it, the music and imagery that came out of both influenced the nightlife aesthetics everywhere, especially in the U.K.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Note: Estimate based on government releases and satellite imagery.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

Jimmie Reeves and Richard Campbell show in their research how the media imagery surrounding cocaine changed as the practice of smoking cocaine came to be associated with poor blacks.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

In each case, she examines her life through the lens of fairy tales, demonstrating how we can draw on their moralities and imageries to make sense of ourselves and our relationship to others.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 11, 2023

These are very real things, very real issues that we deal with, and the dope, almost simple act of just showing regular humans can counteract years of negative imageries.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2021

As you pointed out, there are many beautiful imageries in science, and they are often produced during the course of conducting an experiment or as a way of presenting the result of said experiment.

From Scientific American ● Jan. 13, 2012

Deep Sunken in slumber, imageries sublime Flatter the senses, or some fearful dream Holds them enmeshed.

From Sword Blades and Poppy Seed by Amy Lowell

There are some scores of ruba'iyat that may be said to have contributed their imageries to the quatrain.

From The Sufistic Quatrains of Omar Khayyam by Omar Khayyam

Related Words

• symbolism