What does imagine mean?
Imagine means to form an idea, picture, or scenario in the mind. It is especially natural when describing what someone supposes or believes: “I imagine she has already left” indicates a considered guess rather than a certainty. The word can also describe creative acts, as in imagining a new house, and can express incredulity when used in commands such as “Just imagine!” Depending on context, imagine may range from a practical inference to vivid invention, and it sometimes carries the implication that the thing pictured is unreal. Its many forms—including imagined, imagining, imagination, imaginary, and imaginative—allow speakers to move easily between mental activity, invented qualities, and creative ability. Imagine is consequently broader than merely seeing something in the mind: it covers forming a conception, entertaining a possibility, and mentally constructing an experience. The verb is standard in everyday British and American English, while its noun use is much rarer and literary. Its Latin ancestry also links it to image, since Latin imaginari originally referred to forming an image or likeness.
To form a mental representation or conception of something, or to believe or suppose something to be the case.
"Can you imagine a world without the Internet?"
The word is common in neutral, informal, and formal contexts. It may indicate either creative invention or an inference based on probability.
An act, conception, or product of imagining; an imagined thing or scenario.
"The director's imagine of the city was vivid and sharply imagined."
This noun use is rare and literary rather than part of everyday standard usage.
The plural is rare because the noun itself is rarely used; it chiefly belongs to formal or literary writing.
"The artist produced several distinct imagines of the same landscape."
Imagine began as a mental request to make an image: Latin imaginari literally meant “to form an image.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of imagine
The word entered English in the late Middle English period as a borrowing of Old French imaginer. Old French imaginer came from Latin imaginari, “to form an image or picture in the mind,” from imago, meaning “image” or “likeness.” The same Latin stem produced English image, imagination, imaginary, and imaginative.
Related word forms
How imagine is actually used
The verb is neutral in register and standard in British and American English. It can express a practical inference, as in “I imagine so,” or creative invention. “Fantasize” is usually more fanciful or emotionally unrestricted than “imagine.” The noun use is rare and literary.
Easily confused with imagine
Imagine is the act of forming an idea or picture in the mind, whereas an image is the resulting picture or representation.