imago

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

noun

, plural i·ma·goes, i·ma·gi·nes [ih-, mey, -g, uh, -neez, ih-, mah, -].

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

/ ĭ-mā′gō /

, Plural imagoes ĭ-mā′gə-nēz′

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

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

In these four cases, the women also fall out of the narrow zone of "protection" Trump imagines because of their racial identities or class status.

From Salon

The advice millennials and Gen Z hear about retirement planning still imagines we’ll live like our grandparents did: 40 years of work followed by a couple of decades of not working.

From Salon

Walsh imagines the idea of Trump sitting across a table from him as surreal.

From Los Angeles Times

One imagines that special prosecutor Jack Smith will be looking at that footage with keen interest.

From Salon

In reality, they never made it as far as a date, but the film imagines their trip to a bar and a subsequent altercation in the car park.

From BBC