noun
1The faculty or action of forming new ideas, or images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses.
‘she'd never been blessed with a vivid imagination’
- ‘He designed a series of lavish public celebrations to cement this image in the public imagination.’
- ‘He said the tragedy still captured the public imagination and interest in it had not waned.’
- ‘But one thing was undeniable; that children have vivid imaginations.’
- ‘The fictional Cid, embodying the ideal Castilian, captured the popular imagination of generations.’
- ‘And in one sense there's nothing new about them - humanoid automata have captured the popular imagination for centuries.’
- ‘I set the milk to warm on the stove, telling myself to stop listening to my own overactive imagination.’
- ‘At times, considerable patience and a vivid imagination are required to get from the words to the underlying economics.’
- ‘Allowing young students to use their vivid imaginations helps them visualize their bodies moving in the water.’
- ‘In the first half of the twentieth century the engineering feats that gripped the public imagination were urban and industrial.’
- ‘His radio program gave him the opportunity to use his fertile imagination to develop innovative comedy sketches.’
- ‘If nothing else, ginkgo seems to fire the imagination of ad writers.’
- ‘And why does the grail continue to fire the imagination of writers and readers alike?’
- ‘They also stimulate the imaginations of viewers, which is very personal and consequently very powerful.’
- ‘The show compensated for narrative gaps with energetic appeals to the viewers' imagination.’
- ‘Here, though, the great man's imagination had failed him.’
- ‘Let your imagination roam freely over the facts you have collected.’
- ‘Your proposal is embarrassingly optimistic, like the product of a child's imagination.’
- ‘From the very beginning, then, landscape paintings have been products of artists' imaginations.’
- ‘Constructed of pine, its painted surface is an exuberant expression of the artist's imagination and creativity.’
- ‘One day as I was driving to a two-day business meeting, I let my imagination wander unchecked.’
imaginative faculty, creative power, fancy
interest, fascination, attention, passion, curiosity, preoccupation
View synonyms- 1.1The ability of the mind to be creative or resourceful.
‘technology gives workers the chance to use their imagination’
- ‘The first barrier is the lack of imagination and creativity in resourcing in schools.’
- ‘The garden lacked beauty and mystery and I lacked creative imagination.’
- ‘When will it dawn on them that we are capable of creating jobs by way of our own indigenous resources and imagination?’
- ‘Was it a lack of mental ability, foresight and imagination that was needed many years ago to regenerate what was once a fine city?’
- ‘My aim is to give the chance to create as much as possible in our minds, through creativity and imagination.’
- ‘Invention and imagination were lacking in the home team's second-half effort.’
- ‘The real treasures are the gardens, where imagination and creativity were given free rein.’
- ‘They are literary parasites, the enemies of creativity and imagination.’
- ‘There were so many that they surrounded you in a world of childhood fantasies, imagination, and creativity.’
- ‘Judges placed high value on entries that demonstrated imagination, originality and flair.’
- ‘They had handled this demanding project with a great deal of creativity and imagination.’
- ‘York applied all the pressure with Leeds being forced to attack on the break, but they lacked imagination and guile.’
- ‘One suspects that it is not nature's limitation so much as it is the author's lack of imagination.’
- ‘There is a lack of imagination surrounding special educational provision in this area which is alarming.’
- ‘Our attacking play didn't work out the way I wanted it to because we lacked imagination and clout in midfield.’
- ‘In reality, their clothing demonstrated their complete lack of imagination.’
- ‘The absence of dynamics throughout is due to a lack of imagination with the drum and bass work.’
- ‘I am rather taken by his style, but am disappointed by his lack of imagination.’
- ‘When they had possession their use of the ball lacked imagination or accuracy.’
- ‘Well, perhaps it's a lack of imagination on the part of ownership.’
- 1.2The part of the mind that imagines things.
‘a girl who existed only in my imagination’
- ‘It can lead an audience to open their hearts and minds and imaginations.’
- ‘You don't have that kind of issue in Asia, so their minds and imaginations are less clouded.’
- ‘These cabin tours can be as inventive as campers' imaginations will allow.’
- ‘In these the imagination invents the rhythms to which the observed details will give a solid presence.’
- ‘Therefore, you're acting on the stage of the imagination of the audience.’
- ‘They're about ideas, the imagination and discovering other possibilities.’
Origin
Middle English via Old French from Latin imaginatio(n-), from the verb imaginari ‘picture to oneself’, from imago, imagin- ‘image’.