Definitions for imagination
ɪˌmædʒ əˈneɪ ʃənimag·i·na·tion

Princeton's WordNet(4.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. imagination, imaginativeness, visionnoun

   the formation of a mental image of something that is not perceived as real and is not present to the senses

   "popular imagination created a world of demons"; "imagination reveals what the world could be"

2. imagination, imaging, imagery, mental imagerynoun

   the ability to form mental images of things or events

   "he could still hear her in his imagination"

3. resource, resourcefulness, imaginationnoun

   the ability to deal resourcefully with unusual problems

   "a man of resource"

Wiktionary(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. imaginationnoun

   The image-making power of the mind; the act of creating or reproducing ideally an object not previously perceived; the ability to create such images.

   Imagination is one of the most advanced human faculties.

2. imaginationnoun

   Particularly, construction of false images; fantasizing.

   You think someone's been following you? That's just your imagination.

3. imaginationnoun

   Creativity; resourcefulness.

   His imagination makes him a valuable team member.

4. imaginationnoun

   A mental image formed by the action of the imagination as a faculty; a conception; a notion; an imagining; something imagined.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Imaginationnoun

   Etymology: imaginatio, Latin; imagination, French, from imagine.

   1. Fancy; the power of forming ideal pictures; the power of representing things absent to one's self or others.

   Imagination I understand to be the representation of an individual thought. Imagination is of three kinds: joined with belief of that which is to come; joined with memory of that which is past; and of things present, or as if they were present: for I comprehend in this imagination feigned and at pleasure, as if one should imagine such a man to be in the vestments of a pope, or to have wings. Francis Bacon.

   Our simple apprehension of corporal objects, if present, is sense; if absent, imagination: when we would perceive a material object, our fancies present us with its idea. Joseph Glanvill, Sceps.

   O whither shall I run, or which way fly
   The sight of this so horrid spectacle,
   Which erst my eyes beheld, and yet behold!
   For dire imagination still pursues me. John Milton, Agonistes.

   His imaginations were often as just as they were bold and strong. John Dennis.

   Where beams of warm imagination play,
   The memory's soft figures melt away. Alexander Pope.

   2. Conception; image in the mind; idea.

   Sometimes despair darkens all her imaginations; sometimes the active passion of love cheers and clears her invention. Philip Sidney.

   Princes have but their titles for their glories,
   An outward honour for an inward toil;
   And, for unfelt imaginations,
   They often feel a world of restless cares. William Shakespeare, R. III.

   Better I were distract,
   So should my thoughts be sever'd from my griefs;
   And woes, by wrong imaginations, lose
   The knowledge of themselves. William Shakespeare, King Lear.

   We are apt to think that space, in itself, is actually boundless; to which imagination, the idea of space, of itself leads us. John Locke.

   3. Contrivance; scheme.

   Thou hast seen all their vengeance, and all their imaginations against me. Lam. iii. 60.

Wikipedia(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Imagination

   Imagination is the ability to produce and simulate novel objects, sensations, and ideas in the mind without any immediate input of the senses. It is also described as the forming of experiences in one's mind, which can be re-creations of past experiences such as vivid memories with imagined changes, or they can be completely invented and possibly fantastic scenes. Imagination helps make knowledge applicable in solving problems and is fundamental to integrating experience and the learning process. A basic training for imagination is listening to storytelling (narrative), in which the exactness of the chosen words is the fundamental factor to "evoke worlds".Imagination is a cognitive process used in mental functioning and sometimes used in conjunction with psychological imagery. It is considered as such because it involves thinking about possibilities. The cognate term of mental imagery may be used in psychology for denoting the process of reviving in the mind recollections of objects formerly given in sense perception. Since this use of the term conflicts with that of ordinary language, some psychologists have preferred to describe this process as "imaging" or "imagery" or to speak of it as "reproductive" as opposed to "productive" or "constructive" imagination. Constructive imagination is further divided into voluntary imagination driven by the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) and involuntary imagination (LPFC-independent), such as REM-sleep dreaming, daydreaming, hallucinations, and spontaneous insight. The voluntary types of imagination include integration of modifiers, and mental rotation. Imagined images, both novel and recalled, are seen with the "mind's eye". Imagination, however, is not considered to be exclusively a cognitive activity because it is also linked to the body and place, particularly that it also involves setting up relationships with materials and people, precluding the sense that imagination is locked away in the head.Imagination can also be expressed through stories such as fairy tales or fantasies. Children often use such narratives and pretend play in order to exercise their imaginations. When children develop fantasy they play at two levels: first, they use role playing to act out what they have developed with their imagination, and at the second level they play again with their make-believe situation by acting as if what they have developed is an actual reality.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Imaginationnoun

   the imagine-making power of the mind; the power to create or reproduce ideally an object of sense previously perceived; the power to call up mental imagines

2. Imaginationnoun

   the representative power; the power to reconstruct or recombine the materials furnished by direct apprehension; the complex faculty usually termed the plastic or creative power; the fancy

3. Imaginationnoun

   the power to recombine the materials furnished by experience or memory, for the accomplishment of an elevated purpose; the power of conceiving and expressing the ideal

4. Imaginationnoun

   a mental image formed by the action of the imagination as a faculty; a conception; a notion

Freebase(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Imagination

   Imagination, also called the faculty of imagining, is the ability to form new images and sensations that are not perceived through sight, hearing, or other senses. Imagination helps make knowledge applicable in solving problems and is fundamental to integrating experience and the learning process A basic training for imagination is listening to storytelling, in which the exactness of the chosen words is the fundamental factor to "evoke worlds". It is a whole cycle of image formation or any sensation which may be described as "hidden" as it takes place without anyone else's knowledge. A person may imagine according to his mood, it may be good or bad depending on the situation. Some people imagine in a state of tension or gloominess in order to calm themselves. It is accepted as the innate ability and process of inventing partial or complete personal realms within the mind from elements derived from sense perceptions of the shared world. The term is technically used in psychology for the process of reviving in the mind, percepts of objects formerly given in sense perception. Since this use of the term conflicts with that of ordinary language, some psychologists have preferred to describe this process as "imaging" or "imagery" or to speak of it as "reproductive" as opposed to "productive" or "constructive" imagination. Imagined images are seen with the "mind's eye".

The Nuttall Encyclopedia(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Imagination

   the name appropriate to the highest faculty of man, and defined by Ruskin as "mental creation," in the exercise of which the human being discharges his highest function as a responsible being, "the defect of which on common minds it is the main use," says Ruskin, "of works of fiction, and of the drama, as far as possible, to supply."

The Roycroft Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. imagination

   1. A marvelous little multicolored drugget that covers the rough and splintered floor of reality. 2. A haunted chateau. 3. A vestibule between Time and Eternity. 4. The giant enemy of reality. 5. The red Pantheon of Lucifer. 6. The candle-gleam of science; the flambeau of the lover; the constellated nebulæ of the poet. 7. The glittering west-dust of a hidden innominate sun. 8. The seigniory of untrammeled instincts; the fief of unsanctified dreams; the palfrey that carries us toward nebulous spiritual hills. 9. The plasma of gods. 10. Puck strapped to the back of Balaam's ass. 11. The Shakespeare of mental faculties. 12. The avatar of the emotions. 13. A golden key that unlocks the bastile of logic. 14. A ladder to the fourth dimension. 15. A sublime liar. 16. Taking the halter off your thoughts and giving them a good kick behind. 17. Sympathy illumined by brains.

U.S. National Library of Medicine(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Imagination

   A new pattern of perceptual or ideational material derived from past experience.

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. imagination

   To use our mind to create an idea or form a concept.

   Imagination is an amazing tool to create such joy in the world.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on January 16, 2020  

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. imagination

   Song lyrics by imagination -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by imagination on the Lyrics.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Ingenuity

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'imagination' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3610

2. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'imagination' in Nouns Frequency: #1463

How to pronounce imagination?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say imagination in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of imagination in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of imagination in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of imagination in a Sentence

1. John Constable:

   Landscape is my mistress - t'is to her that I look for fame - and all that the warmth of the imagination renders dear to man

2. Tomas Wallin:

   You leave more for your imagination if your eyes are out of focus

3. Analyst Roger Phillips at Investec:

   Imagination is no stranger to reporting disappointing numbers, having done so for several years.

4. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe:

   There is nothing more dreadful than imagination without taste.

5. Thomas Alva Edison:

   To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.

Popularity rank by frequency of use