imagination

[ ih-maj-uh-ney-shuhn ]

noun

1. the faculty of imagining, or of forming mental images or concepts of what is not actually present to the senses.
2. the action or process of forming such images or concepts.
3. the faculty of producing ideal creations consistent with reality, as in literature, as distinct from the power of creating illustrative or decorative imagery. Compare fancy ( def 9 ).
4. the product of imagining a conception or mental creation, often a baseless or fanciful one.
5. ability to face and resolve difficulties; resourcefulness:

   a job that requires imagination.

   Synonyms: thought, enterprise, ingenuity

6. Psychology. the power of reproducing images stored in the memory under the suggestion of associated images reproductive imagination or of recombining former experiences in the creation of new images directed at a specific goal or aiding in the solution of problems creative imagination.
7. (in Kantian epistemology) synthesis of data from the sensory manifold into objects by means of the categories.
8. Archaic. a plan, scheme, or plot.

imagination

/ ɪˌmædʒɪˈneɪʃən /

noun

1. the faculty or action of producing ideas, esp mental images of what is not present or has not been experienced
2. mental creative ability
3. the ability to deal resourcefully with unexpected or unusual problems, circumstances, etc
4. (in romantic literary criticism, esp that of S. T. Coleridge) a creative act of perception that joins passive and active elements in thinking and imposes unity on the poetic material Compare fancy

Derived Forms

• imˌagiˈnational, adjective

Other Words From

• i·magi·nation·al adjective
• nonim·agi·nation·al adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of imagination¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, Middle French, from Latin imāginātiōn- (stem of imāginātiō ) “mental image, fancy,” equivalent to imāgināt(us), past participle of the verb imāginārī imagine ( imāgin-, stem of imāgō image + -ātus -ate ¹ ) + -iōn- -ion

Idioms and Phrases

see figment of one's imagination .

Synonym Study

See fancy.

Example Sentences

In My First Coup d'Etat, Mahama Jr describes himself as "an observant child with an active imagination and an unbounded curiosity".

From BBC

Few are prepared to say so openly, although the drivers did not leave much to the imagination in their open letter on the recent controversy over swearing.

From BBC

Per Wayne State School of Law professor Khaled A. Beydoun, “Money drives the yearning for a white contender who can capture the imagination of new audiences and the maximum dollars only whiteness can bring.”

From Salon

There are competing factions on the question of what a color actually is — or if it’s anything more than a figment of our imagination.

From Salon

More importantly, Lovett lends majestic voice to the rhythms of Beckett’s play, originally written in French but conceived by an Irish imagination and translated by Beckett himself.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• artistry
• awareness
• fancy
• fantasy
• idea
• image
• imagery
• ingenuity
• insight
• inspiration
• intelligence
• inventiveness
• originality
• resourcefulness
• thought
• vision
• wit