imagination

English

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪˌmædʒəˈneɪʃən/, X-SAMPA: /I%m{dZ@"neIS@n/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Noun

imagination (plural imaginations)

1. 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.

   • 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 5, Lord Stranleigh Abroad^[1]:

     She removed Stranleigh’s coat with a dexterity that aroused his imagination.

2. Particularly, construction of false images; fantasizing.

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

3. Creativity; resourcefulness.

   His imagination makes him a valuable team member.

4. A mental image formed by the action of the imagination as a faculty; a conception; a notion; an imagining; something imagined.
   • 1597, Francis Bacon, "Of Youth and Age", Essays:

     And yet the invention of young men, is more lively than that of old; and imaginations stream into their minds better, and, as it were, more divinely.

Synonyms

• (the representative power): creativity, fancy, imaginativeness, invention, inventiveness

Translations

image-making power of the mind

• Arabic: خيال (ar) (khayyaal) m
• Bengali: কল্পনা (bn)
• Catalan: imaginació (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 想像力 (cmn) (xiǎngxiànglì)

• Czech: představivost (cs) f
• Dutch: verbeelding (nl) f
• Esperanto: imago (eo)
• Finnish: mielikuvitus (fi)
• French: imagination (fr) f
• German: Vorstellungskraft (de) f, Imagination (de) f
• Greek: φαντασία (el) (fantasía) f
• Hebrew: דמיון (he) (dimyon)
• Hungarian: képzelet (hu)
• Icelandic: ímyndunarafl (is) n
• Japanese: 想像力 (ja) (sōzōryoku)

• Korean: 상상력 (ko) (sangsangryeok)
• Latin: opinio (la) f
• Malay: imaginasi (ms)
• Norwegian: fantasi (no) m
• Polish: wyobraźnia (pl) f
• Romanian: imaginație (ro) f, fantezie (ro) f, forță de imaginare (ro) f
• Russian: воображение (ru) (voobražénije) n
• Scottish Gaelic: mac-meanmna (gd) m
• Serbo-Croatian: mašta (sh) f
• Slovene: domišljija (sl) f
• Spanish: imaginación (es) f
• Swahili: ubunifu (sw)
• Tagalog: haraya (tl), imahinasyon (tl)
• Tamil: கற்பனை (ta) (karpanai)
• Turkish: hayal gücü (tr)

construction of false images

• Japanese: 想像 (ja) (sōzō), 空想 (ja) (kūsō)
• Korean: 상상 (ko) (sangsang)
• Polish: urojenie (pl) n

• Romanian: închipuire (ro) f, imaginare (ro) f, iluzionare (ro) f
• Russian: воображение (ru) (voobražénije) n
• Scottish Gaelic: mac-meanmna (gd) m

a mental image

• Arabic: صورة ذهنية (ar)
• Dutch: verbeelding (nl) f
• Finnish: mielikuva (fi)
• German: Vorstellung (de) f
• Greek: φαντασίωση (el) (fantasíosi) f
• Hungarian: képzelet (hu)
• Icelandic: ímyndun (is) f

• Japanese: 想像 (ja) (sōzō), 空想 (ja) (kūsō)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: خه‌یاڵ (ku) (xeyall)

• Polish: wyobrażenie (pl) n
• Romanian: imagine (ro) f, imaginare (ro) f, închipuire (ro) f
• Spanish: imaginación (es) f

External links

• Imagination on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

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French

Wikipedia ^fr

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

imagination f (plural imaginations)

1. (countable and uncountable) imagination

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Middle French

Alternative forms

• ymagination

Noun

imagination f (plural imaginations)

1. (countable and uncountable) imagination
2. thought; reflection; idea

Related terms

• imaginer

Descendants

• French: imagination