imagine

[ih-maj-in]

See more synonyms for imagine on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), im·ag·ined, im·ag·in·ing.

to form a mental image of (something not actually present to the senses).
to think, believe, or fancy: He imagined the house was haunted.
to assume; suppose: I imagine they'll be here soon.

to conjecture; guess: I cannot imagine what you mean.
Archaic. to plan, scheme, or plot.

verb (used without object), im·ag·ined, im·ag·in·ing.

to form mental images of things not present to the senses; use the imagination.
to suppose; think; conjecture.

Origin of imagine

1300–50; Middle English imaginen < Middle French imaginer < Latin imāginārī, equivalent to imāgin- (stem of imāgō) image + -ā- thematic vowel + -rī infinitive ending

Related formsi·mag·in·er, nounpre·im·ag·ine, verb (used with object), pre·im·ag·ined, pre·im·ag·in·ing.re·i·mag·ine, verb (used with object), re·i·mag·ined, re·i·mag·in·ing.un·im·ag·ined, adjectivewell-i·mag·ined, adjective

Synonyms

See more synonyms for imagine on Thesaurus.com

1. image, picture. Imagine, conceive, conceive of, realize refer to bringing something before the mind. To imagine is, literally, to form a mental image of something: to imagine yourself in London. To conceive is to form something by using one's imagination: How has the author conceived the first act of his play? To conceive of is to comprehend through the intellect something not perceived through the senses: Wilson conceived of a world free from war. To realize is to make an imagined thing real or concrete to oneself, to grasp fully its implications: to realize the extent of one's folly.

imago

[ih-mey-goh, ih-mah-]

noun, plural i·ma·goes, i·ma·gi·nes

[ih-mey-guh-neez, ih-mah-] /ɪˈmeɪ gəˌniz, ɪˈmɑ-/.

Entomology. an adult insect.
Psychoanalysis. an idealized concept of a loved one, formed in childhood and retained unaltered in adult life.

Origin of imago

1790–1800; < New Latin, Latin imāgō; see image

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for imagines

Contemporary Examples

A new book from Mallory Ortberg imagines what literary legends including King Lear and Jane Eyre would have texted.
What Would Jane Eyre Sext?
Jennie Yabroff
December 23, 2014
He also imagines her dancing a sexually aggressive spotlit dance.
In Defense of American Apparel: Why a Hitched-Up Skirt Barely Conceals a Profound Social Confusion
Tim Teeman
August 8, 2014
Most bravely perhaps, Maka, 45, imagines some comedic moments.
The Surprisingly Good Flight 370 Novel: Author Scott Maka Defends His Controversial Book
Tim Teeman
June 14, 2014
In those anonymous italics again, Kibbe imagines unnamed folks saying, “Check this out: This senator is speaking truth to power.”
Why The Tea Party Won’t Go Away And More Wisdom From Matt Kibbe
Michael Signer
April 23, 2014
For a moment, Tiffany imagines her two friends doing something slightly wicked, like joy-riding around Syracuse.
The Stacks: The Searing Story of How Murder Stalked a Tiny New York Town
E. Jean Carroll
April 19, 2014

Historical Examples

Some faces show more plainly in the moonlight, or one imagines so.
Quaint Courtships
Various
He sees the hearth in the middle and imagines the fire blazing there.
Buried Cities: Pompeii, Olympia, Mycenae
Jennie Hall
Nobody, even in revolutionary France, imagines that it will work.
The American Mind
Bliss Perry
He imagines that the thought had proceeded out of his own heart.
Bunyan
James Anthony Froude
In her delirium she imagines herself to be queen of the world.
The Sexual Question
August Forel

British Dictionary definitions for imagines

imagine

verb

(when tr, may take a clause as object) to form a mental image of
(when tr, may take a clause as object) to think, believe, or guess
(tr; takes a clause as object) to suppose; assumeI imagine he'll come
(tr; takes a clause as object) to believe or assume without foundationhe imagines he knows the whole story
an archaic word for plot 1

sentence substitute

Also: imagine that! an exclamation of surprise

Derived Formsimaginable, adjectiveimaginably, adverbimaginer, noun

Word Origin

C14: from Latin imāginārī to fancy, picture mentally, from imāgō likeness; see image

imago

noun plural imagoes or imagines (ɪˈmædʒəˌniːz)

an adult sexually mature insect produced after metamorphosis
psychoanal an idealized image of another person, usually a parent, acquired in childhood and carried in the unconscious in later life

Word Origin

C18: New Latin, from Latin: likeness; see image

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for imagines

imagine

v.

mid-14c., "to form a mental image of," from Old French imaginer "sculpt, carve, paint; decorate, embellish" (13c.), from Latin imaginari "to form a mental picture to oneself, imagine" (also, in Late Latin imaginare "to form an image of, represent"), from imago (see image). Sense of "suppose" is first recorded late 14c. Related: Imagined; imagining.

imago

n.

1797, from Latin imago "image" (see image).

imagines in Medicine

imago

(ĭ-mā′gō, ĭ-mä′-)

n. pl. i•ma•goes

An insect in its sexually mature adult stage after metamorphosis.
An often idealized image of a person, usually a parent, formed in childhood and persisting unconsciously into adulthood.
archetype

imagines in Science