imagination

i-mag-i-na-tion · noun

imported

Definitions

noun

  1. 1.

    The faculty or action of forming new ideas, images, or concepts not present to the senses.

  2. 2.

    The ability of the mind to be creative or resourceful.

  3. 3.

    The part of the mind that imagines things.

Forms

plural: imaginations

Phrases & expressions

  • •
    use your imagination — think creatively or consider possibilities
  • •
    stretch of the imagination — a considerable mental effort to believe something
  • •
    capture the imagination — fascinate or inspire someone
  • •
    beyond imagination — impossible to conceive or believe
  • •
    leave nothing to the imagination — reveal everything explicitly

Related words

Antonyms: literalness, reality
See also: creative, imaginary, imagine
Synonyms: creativity, fancy, vision

Etymology

From Latin imaginatio ("a fancy, imagination"), from imaginari ("to picture to oneself"). Entered English through Old French imagination in the 14th century.