imagination
Americannoun
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imaginations
plural
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the faculty of imagining, or of forming mental images or concepts of what is not actually present to the senses.
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the action or process of forming such images or concepts.
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the faculty of producing ideal creations consistent with reality, as in literature, as distinct from the power of creating illustrative or decorative imagery.
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the product of imagining a conception or mental creation, often a baseless or fanciful one.
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ability to face and resolve difficulties; resourcefulness.
a job that requires imagination.
- Synonyms:
- thought, enterprise, ingenuity
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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.
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(in Kantian epistemology) synthesis of data from the sensory manifold into objects by means of the categories.
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Archaic. a plan, scheme, or plot.
noun
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the faculty or action of producing ideas, esp mental images of what is not present or has not been experienced
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mental creative ability
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the ability to deal resourcefully with unexpected or unusual problems, circumstances, etc
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(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
Synonym Usage
See fancy.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of imagination
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
Explanation
Imagination refers to the process of forming images or concepts in the mind, often images of things that are not really there. That shark in your bathtub must have been in your imagination — or was it? Often shunned for living in a dream world, imagination is behind unicorns, Big Foot, and excessive daydreaming. But it’s humans’ ability to picture what is not there, and to be resourceful and creative, that is behind many of our achievements. Maybe that’s why Albert Einstein said “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” After all, without a little imagination, we wouldn’t have the pyramids, the space shuttles, or the Star Wars trilogy.
Vocabulary lists containing imagination
Creative Writing - Middle School
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General Terms, List 1
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Creative Writing - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It captured the imagination of football fans everywhere, because it seemed so difficult for anyone outside the 'Big Six' to get even close to being champions.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
“New Roadster is beyond movies, beyond imagination, beyond human, yet still made by humans on Earth,” Tesla CEO Musk wrote in a post on X on Thursday.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026
And my view now is that you should read books and watch television, and neither is bad for the imagination.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
“And so it takes imagination, and I think that’s much, much harder.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
“Today,” announced Mr. Lemoncello, “in our third and fourth games, you will use the library to help your imagination take flight, much as I am about to do.”
From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein
“Halloween is a chance to allow ourselves to experience the love of seeing people get silly, seeing people tap into a different part of their imaginations and give themselves permission,” Monáe says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
That song helped me find that maybe there was a little river of romance in their imaginations in that moment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
There are copious cognitive benefits and endless possibilities for where their imaginations can run, unbound by the limiting confines of a tablet.
From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2026
"I think if not, people's imaginations run wild and I think we would all like to know exactly what is going on," he says.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
Because of the lurid tales we read and our vivid imaginations and, probably, memories of our brief but hectic lives, Bailey and I were afflicted—he physically and I mentally.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
