imagery

[im-ij-ree, im-i-juh-ree]

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.

imagery

/ 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

imagery

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.”

Other Word Forms

• imagerial adjective
• imagerially adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of imagery¹

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

Example Sentences

It's not only the impact on models Gandy is concerned about, but also on those involved in the making of fashion imagery - including photographers.

From BBC

“If you really stare at them, you’ll find all kinds of imagery,” she says.

From Los Angeles Times

“We are not wired as human beings — biologically, historically — we have not evolved in a way that we are capable of processing those types of violent imagery,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

And now he has paired the issues of crime and immigration as he threatens Chicago, deploying militaristic imagery and rhetoric that break longstanding American norms.

From Los Angeles Times

Buried in its language is a promise to “limit the direct marketing of certain unhealthy foods to children, including by evaluating the use of misleading claims and imagery.”

From Salon

Related Words

• symbolism