imagine

/ɪˈmædʒən/

/ɪˈmædʒɪn/

Other forms: imagined; imagining

To imagine something is to picture it in your head. When we imagine things, we're using our imagination.

The word image is a good clue to the meaning of imagine, a word for picturing or envisioning things. You could imagine you're a king, an astronaut, a firefighter, or a coyote. You could imagine the earth getting hit by an asteroid. If you can think of it, you can imagine it. Sometimes, imagining means believing or guessing. For example, your teacher could say, "Did you really imagine there would be no homework?"

Definitions of imagine

1. verb

   expect, believe, or suppose
   “I imagine she earned a lot of money with her new novel”

   synonyms: guess, opine, reckon, suppose, think

   types:

   suspect

   hold in suspicion; believe to be guilty

   type of:

   anticipate, expect

   regard something as probable or likely
2. verb

   form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case
   synonyms: conceive of, envisage, ideate

   types:

   envision, fancy, figure, image, picture, project, see, visualise, visualize

   imagine; conceive of; see in one's mind

   visualise, visualize

   form a mental picture of something that is invisible or abstract

   envision, foresee

   picture to oneself; imagine possible

   fantasise, fantasize

   portray in the mind

   prefigure

   imagine or consider beforehand

   think

   imagine or visualize

   fantasise, fantasize, fantasy, phantasy

   indulge in fantasies

   daydream, dream, stargaze, woolgather

   have a daydream; indulge in a fantasy

   type of:

   create by mental act, create mentally

   create mentally and abstractly rather than with one's hands