imagine

See also: imaginé

English

Etymology

From Old French imaginer, from Latin imāginor, from imāginem, the accusative singular of imāgō (a copy, likeness, image).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɪˈmædʒ.ɪn/
  • (file)
  • Hyphenation: imag‧ine

Verb

imagine (third-person singular simple present imagines, present participle imagining, simple past and past participle imagined)

  1. (transitive) to form a mental image of something; to envision or create something in one's mind.
    • Shakespeare
      In the night, imagining some fear, / How easy is a bush supposed a bear!
    • 2013 June 14, Jonathan Freedland, “Obama's once hip brand is now tainted”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 18:
      Now we are liberal with our innermost secrets, spraying them into the public ether with a generosity our forebears could not have imagined. Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet.
    Try to imagine a pink elephant.
  2. (transitive) to believe in something created by one's own mind
    She imagined that the man wanted to kill her.
  3. (transitive) to assume
    I imagine that he will need to rest after such a long flight.
  4. (transitive) to conjecture or guess
    I cannot even imagine what you are up to!
    The board imagines the merger will increase profits by 25%
  5. (intransitive) to use one's imagination
    Imagine that we were siblings.
  6. (transitive, obsolete) to contrive in purpose; to scheme; to devise
    • Bible, Psalms lxii. 3
      How long will ye imagine mischief against a man?

Usage notes

  • This is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing). See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations


French

Verb

imagine

  1. first-person singular present indicative of imaginer
  2. third-person singular present indicative of imaginer
  3. first-person singular present subjunctive of imaginer
  4. first-person singular present subjunctive of imaginer
  5. second-person singular imperative of imaginer

Latin

Noun

imāgine

  1. ablative singular of imāgō

Portuguese

Verb

imagine

  1. first-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of imaginar
  2. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present subjunctive of imaginar
  3. third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of imaginar
  4. third-person singular (você) negative imperative of imaginar

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin imāgō, imāginem, French image.

Noun

imagine f (plural imagini)

  1. image

Declension

See also


Spanish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /imaˈxine/

Verb

imagine

  1. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of imaginar.
  2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of imaginar.
  3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted?) present subjunctive form of imaginar.
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