imago

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

noun

plural

imagoes, imagines 

1. Entomology.,  an adult insect.

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

imago

/ ɪˈmeɪɡəʊ /

noun

1. an adult sexually mature insect produced after metamorphosis

2. psychoanal an idealized image of another person, usually a parent, acquired in childhood and carried in the unconscious in later life

imago

plural

imagoes 

1. An insect in its sexually mature adult stage after metamorphosis.

2. Compare larva nymph pupa

Word History and Origins

Origin of imago¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of imago¹

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

Example Sentences

Our America is not ruled by a petty, vindictive despot wannabe with an outrageous history of criminal and socially abhorrent behavior who imagines he is king.

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“Wi$h Li$t,” a wistful song that hits like a contented sigh, imagines a simple life of domesticity in a suburban house with a basketball hoop, children and peace.

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Her first writing gig was for a PBS children’s show called “Wishbone,” about a Jack Russell terrier who imagines himself as a character in literary classics.

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As she imagines The Bear’s chaos menu, she’s eating and traveling around the city, looking at buildings and their design for inspiration.

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Renderings show the exterior, left, and interior of Sandy Yang’s project, which imagines reusing burned trees from the Eaton fire as material.

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