imagination

See also: Imagination

English

Etymology

From Middle English ymaginacioun, from Old French imaginacion, ymaginacion, from Latin imāginātiō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪˌmæd͡ʒəˈneɪʃən/

• 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

   • 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Youth and Age”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC:

     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

Derived terms

• by any stretch of the imagination
• by no stretch of imagination
• by no stretch of the imagination
• figment of one's imagination
• imaginational
• leave little to the imagination
• leave nothing to the imagination
• leave to the imagination

 

Translations

image-making power of the mind

• Afrikaans: verbeelding (af)
• Albanian: imagjinatë (sq) f
• Arabic: خَيَّال (ar) m (ḵayyāl), تَخَيُّل m (taḵayyul), تَصَوُّر m (taṣawwur), مُخَيَّلَة f (muḵayyala)
• Armenian: երեւակայություն (hy) (erewakayutʻyun)
• Azerbaijani: təxəyyül (az), xəyal (az)
• Bashkir: хыял (xıyal)
• Belarusian: выабражэ́нне n (vyabražénnje), уяўле́нне (be) n (ujaŭljénnje)
• Bengali: কল্পনা (bn) (kolpona)
• Bulgarian: въображе́ние (bg) n (vǎobražénie)
• Burmese: စိတ်ကူး (my) (citku:), စိတ်ကူးဉာဏ် (my) (citku:nyan)
• 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), ἐπίνοια (epínoia)

• Hebrew: דִּמְיוֹן (he) (dimyon)
• Hindi: कल्पना (hi) f (kalpanā), तसव्वुर (hi) m (tasavvur), तख़य्युल m (taxayyul)
• Hungarian: képzelet (hu)
• Icelandic: ímyndunarafl (is) n
• Indonesian: imajinasi (id)
• Irish: íomháineacht f
• Italian: immaginazione (it) f
• Japanese: 想像力 (ja) (そうぞうりょく, sōzōryoku)
• Kazakh: қиял (qiäl)
• Khmer: រូបាទ្យារម្មណ៍ (ruupaatyiərɑm)
• Korean: 상상력 (ko) (sangsangnyeok)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: xeyal (ku)

• Kyrgyz: кыял (kıyal)
• Lao: ຈິນຕະນາການ (lo) (chin ta nā kān)
• Latin: opinio f
• Latvian: iztēle f
• Lithuanian: vaizduotė f
• Macedonian: воо́бразба f (voóbrazba), имагина́ција f (imaginácija)
• Malay: imaginasi
• Maori: pohewatanga
• Middle English: ymaginacioun, ymagynynge
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: төсөөлөл (mn) (tösöölöl)

• Norwegian: fantasi (no) m, innbilning (no)

  Nynorsk: hugleik (nn) m

• Old English: mōdes hīwung f, gedwimor m
• Pashto: خيال (ps) m (xyāl), تخيل (ps) m (taxayól), تصور (ps) m (tasawór), مخيله f (mxayelá)
• Persian: خیال (xeyâl), تخیل (fa) (taxayyol), تصور (fa) (tasavvor), مخیله (fa) (moxayyele)
• Plautdietsch: Enbildunk f
• Polish: fantazja (pl) f, imaginacja (pl) f, 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
• Tajik: хаёл (xayol), тахайюл (taxayyul), мухайяла (muxayyala)
• Tamil: கற்பனை (ta) (kaṟpaṉai)
• Tatar: хыял (tt) (xıyal)
• Thai: จินตนาการ (th) (jin-dtà-naa-gaan)
• Turkish: hayal gücü (tr), muhayyile (tr), imgelem (tr), hayal (tr)
• Turkmen: hyýal
• Ukrainian: уя́ва f (ujáva), уя́влення (uk) n (ujávlennja)
• Urdu: خیال m (xayāl, xiyāl), تخیل m (taxayyul), تصور m (tasavvur)
• Uyghur: خىيال (xiyal)
• Uzbek: xayol (uz), taxayyul (uz)
• Vietnamese: sự hình dung (vi), sự tưởng tượng (vi)

construction of false images

• Afrikaans: verbeelding (af)
• Armenian: երեւակայություն (hy) (erewakayutʻyun)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 想像 (zh) (xiǎngxiàng)

• Dutch: verbeelding (nl) f
• Finnish: kuvittelu (fi), mielikuvitus (fi)
• Indonesian: imajinasi (id)
• Irish: íomháineacht f
• Japanese: 想像 (ja) (sōzō), 空想 (ja) (kūsō)
• Korean: 상상 (ko) (sangsang)
• Macedonian: воо́бразба f (voóbrazba)
• Middle English: ymaginacioun
• 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

creativity; resourcefulness — see also creativity

• Finnish: mielikuvitus (fi)
• Middle English: ymaginacioun

mental image

• Afrikaans: verbeelding (af)
• Arabic: صُورَة ذِهْنِيَّة (ṣūra(t) ḏihniyya)
• Armenian: մտապատկեր (hy) (mtapatker)
• Belarusian: выабражэ́нне n (vyabražénnje), уяўле́нне (be) n (ujaŭljénnje)
• Bulgarian: въображе́ние (bg) n (vǎobražénie)
• 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
• Indonesian: imajinasi (id)
• Japanese: 想像 (ja) (sōzō), 空想 (ja) (kūsō)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: خەیاڵ (xeyall)

• Macedonian: воо́бразба f (voóbrazba)
• Maori: pohewatanga
• Middle English: ymaginacioun
• 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)
• Ukrainian: уя́ва f (ujáva), уя́влення (uk) n (ujávlennja)

Further reading

• imagination on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French, from Old French imaginacion, borrowed from Latin 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.

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