imagination

See also: Imagination

English

Etymology

From Old French imaginacion, from Latin imāginātiō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪˌmædʒəˈneɪʃən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Noun

imagination (countable and uncountable, plural imaginations)

1. The image-making power of the mind; the act of mentally creating or reproducing 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, in 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; something imagined.

   Synonyms: conception, notion, imagining

   • 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: خَيَّال (ar) m (ḵayyāl)
• Armenian: երեւակայություն (erewakayutʻyun)
• Azerbaijani: təxəyyül (az)
• Belarusian: выабражэ́нне n (vyabražénnje), ўяўле́нне n (ŭjaŭljénnje)
• Bengali: কল্পনা (kolpona)
• Bulgarian: въображе́ние (bg) n (vǎobražénie)
• Catalan: imaginació (ca) f
• Cebuano: handurawan
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 想像力 (soeng² zoeng⁶ lik⁶)

  Mandarin: 想像力 (zh) (xiǎngxiànglì)

• Czech: představivost (cs) f
• Danish: fantasi c, forestillingsevne c, indbildning
• Dutch: verbeelding (nl) f, fantasie (nl)
• Esperanto: imago (eo)
• Estonian: ettekujutus
• Finnish: mielikuvitus (fi)
• French: imagination (fr) f
• Galician: imaxinación (gl) f
• Georgian: წარმოსახვა (c̣armosaxva), ფანტაზია (panṭazia), წარმოდგენა (c̣armodgena)
• German: Vorstellungskraft (de) f, Imagination (de) f, Einbildungskraft (de) f, Fantasie (de) f
• Greek: φαντασία (el) f (fantasía)

  Ancient: φαντασία f (phantasía)

• Hebrew: דִּמְיוֹן (he) (dimyon)
• Hindi: कल्पना (hi) f (kalpanā)
• Hungarian: képzelet (hu)
• Icelandic: ímyndunarafl (is) n
• Irish: íomháineacht f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 想像力 (ja) (うぞうりょく, sōzōryoku)
• Korean: 상상력 (ko) (sangsangnyeok)
• Latin: opinio f
• Latvian: iztēle f
• Lithuanian: vaizduotė f
• Macedonian: имагинација f (imaginacija)
• Malay: imaginasi
• Maori: pohewatanga
• Norwegian: fantasi (no) m, innbilning (no)
• Polish: wyobraźnia (pl) f
• Portuguese: imaginação (pt) f
• Romanian: imaginație (ro) f, fantezie (ro) f, forță de imaginare f
• Russian: воображе́ние (ru) n (voobražénije)
• Scottish Gaelic: mac-meanmna m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ма̀шта f, имагина́ција f

  Roman: màšta (sh) f, imaginácija (sh) f

• Slovak: predstavivosť f
• Slovene: domišljija (sl) f
• Spanish: imaginación (es) f, magín (es)
• Swahili: ubunifu
• Swedish: fantasi (sv) c, inbillning (sv) c
• Tagalog: haraya (tl), imahinasyon
• Tamil: கற்பனை (ta) (kaṟpaṉai)
• Thai: จินตนาการ (jin-dtà-naa-gaan)
• Turkish: hayal gücü (tr), muhayyile (tr), imgelem (tr)
• Ukrainian: уя́ва f (ujáva), уя́влення (uk) n (ujávlennja)

construction of false images

• Armenian: երեւակայություն (erewakayutʻyun)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 想像 (zh) (xiǎngxiàng)

• Dutch: verbeelding (nl) f
• Irish: íomháineacht f
• Japanese: 想像 (ja) (sōzō), 空想 (ja) (kūsō)
• Korean: 상상 (ko) (sangsang)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Polish: urojenie (pl) n
• Portuguese: imaginação (pt) f
• Romanian: închipuire (ro) f, imaginare (ro) f, iluzionare (ro) f
• Russian: воображе́ние (ru) n (voobražénije)
• Scottish Gaelic: mac-meanmna m
• Swedish: inbillning (sv) c

a mental image

• Arabic: صُورَة ذِهْنِيَّة (ṣūra(t) ḏihniyya)
• Armenian: մտապատկեր (hy) (mtapatker)
• Bulgarian: въображение (bg) n (vǎobraženie)
• Dutch: verbeelding (nl) f
• Finnish: mielikuva (fi)
• German: Vorstellung (de) f, Einbildung (de) f
• Greek: φαντασίωση (el) f (fantasíosi)
• Hungarian: képzelet (hu)
• Icelandic: ímyndun (is) f
• Japanese: 想像 (ja) (sōzō), 空想 (ja) (kūsō)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: خەیاڵ (xeyall)

• Maori: pohewatanga
• Polish: wyobrażenie (pl) n
• Portuguese: imaginação (pt) f
• Romanian: imagine (ro) f, imaginare (ro) f, închipuire (ro) f
• Russian: воображе́ние (ru) n (voobražénije)
• Spanish: imaginación (es) f
• Swedish: fantasi (sv) c, inbillning (sv) c (false image)

Further reading

• imagination on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

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French

Etymology

From Middle French, from Old French imaginacion, borrowed from Latin imāginātiō, imāginātiōnem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /i.ma.ʒi.na.sjɔ̃/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

imagination f (plural imaginations)

1. (countable and uncountable) imagination

Related terms

• image
• imaginer
• imaginatif

Further reading

• “imagination”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Middle French

Alternative forms

• ymagination

Etymology

From Old French imaginacion, borrowed from Latin imāginātiō.

Noun

imagination f (plural imaginations)

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

Related terms

• imaginer

Descendants

• French: imagination