imagery

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

noun

, plural im·age·ries.

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 Words From

• im·a·ge·ri·al [im-, uh, -, jeer, -ee-, uh, l], adjective
• ima·geri·al·ly 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

Ross’ 2018 Oscar-nominated documentary, “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” depicted the lives of Black people in a disenfranchised Alabama community with powerful, poetic imagery that demanded your full attention.

From Los Angeles Times

The BBC confirmed the damage by using satellite imagery, eyewitness videos, news reports, and visits to the sites.

From BBC

Reflected, back-scattered photons return from the target object carrying speckle noise, a random type of flaw that occurs in imagery.

From Science Daily

For example, when Nkasi created Mya Blue using AI, he faced issues with her imagery - the artist presents as a Gen Z American girl with blue hair.

From BBC

Her own pointillist lyrics and made-for-moodboards underwater imagery captured her peers’ ambient loneliness.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• symbolism