Word family noun imagination imaginings adjective imaginable ≠ unimaginable imaginary imaginative ≠ unimaginative unimagined verb imagine adverb unimaginably imaginatively
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishldoce_724_zimaginei‧ma‧gine /ɪˈmædʒɪn/ ●●● S1 W2 verb [transitive] 1 IMAGINEto form a picture or idea in your mind about what something could be likeimagine (that) Imagine that you have just won a million pounds. Imagine life without hot water.imagine what/how/why etc Can you imagine what it’s like when it’s really hot out here in Delhi?imagine somebody doing something She could imagine dark-robed figures moving silently along the stone corridors.(just) imagine doing something Imagine doing a horrible job like that! Just imagine going all that way for nothing!imagine somebody/something as something He didn’t quite dare to imagine himself as a real artist.imagine somebody in/with/without etc something Somehow, I can’t imagine him without a beard.it’s difficult/easy/possible/impossible etc to imagine something After such a dry summer, it’s difficult to imagine what rain looks like.GrammarImagine is followed by an -ing form, not an infinitive. You say: I can’t imagine living without music. ✗Don’t say: I can’t imagine to live without music.2 WRONG/UNJUSTIFIEDto have a false or wrong idea about something Perhaps she’d never really been there at all – perhaps she’d just imagined it. imagined dangersimagine (that) She had imagined that the doctor would be male. I was surprised when I saw the farm. I had imagined it would be much bigger.imagine something/somebody to be something There’s nobody here. You’re just imagining things.3 [not in progressive]THINK SO/NOT BE SURE to think that something is true or may happen, but without being sure or having proof ‘A very complicated subject, I imagine, ’ said Edwin.imagine (that) You are obviously tired and I imagine that nothing would make you admit it.4 → you can/can’t imagine somethingCOLLOCATIONS – Meaning 1 : to form a picture or idea in your mind about what something could be likephrasesbe easy to imagineIt’s easy to imagine how the change in the law caused a lot of confusion.be hard/difficult to imagineIt’s hard to imagine the suffering she must have gone through.can easily imagineI can easily imagine how frightening the accident must have been.can well imagine (=can easily imagine)I can well imagine how delighted you were with the news.can hardly/scarcely imagine (=find it difficult to imagine)He could scarcely imagine what living in such poor conditions must have been like.can’t/couldn’t imagineHe couldn’t imagine life without his wife.what somebody had imagined (=what someone thought something would be like, before they saw it or experienced it)The office was not what he had imagined.be bigger/smaller/worse etc than you had imaginedThe job interview proved to be much worse than I had imagined it would be.let us imagine … (=used to encourage someone else to think about a possibility)Let us imagine that you are an employer who wants to recruit some new staff.somebody is imagining things (=someone has a false or wrong idea about something)She’s imagining things if she thinks she has a chance of winning the prize.adverbsnaively imagine (=to imagine something without realizing how complicated the situation is)She had naively imagined that marriage would solve all her problems.fondly imagine (=to believe something that is untrue)He had fondly imagined that she was in love with him. THESAURUSimagine to form a picture or idea in your mind about what something might be likeWhen I think of Honolulu, I imagine long white beaches and palm trees.I can’t really imagine being a millionaire.visualize to form a picture of someone or something in your mind, especially something that is definitely going to happen or exist in the futureAnna visualized meeting Greg again at the airport.The finished house may be hard to visualize.picture to form a clear picture of something or someone in your mindI can still picture my father, even though he died a long time ago.The town was just how she had pictured it from his description.envisage /ɪnˈvɪzɪdʒ/ especially British English, envision to imagine something as possible or likely to happen in the futureHow do you envisage your career developing over the next ten years?They had envisioned the creation of a single armed force, small but efficient.conceive of something formal to imagine a situation, especially one that is difficult to imagineFor many people, music is so important that they cannot conceive of life without it.fantasize to imagine something exciting that you would like to happen, but that is very unlikely to happenI used to fantasize about becoming a film star.daydream to imagine pleasant things, so that you forget where you are and what you should be doingMark began to daydream, and didn’t even hear the teacher’s question.hallucinate to imagine that you are seeing things that are not really there, especially because you are ill or have taken drugsThe drug can cause some people to hallucinate.When I saw the walls moving, I thought I must be hallucinating. → See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
imagine• Now imagine 5 billion people, the entire population of Earth, each setting off a 24ton explosion at the same time.• The lake is much prettier than I had imagined.• It is impossible to imagine a Cheyenne war party coming out of the canyon, because the canyon is gone.• Try to imagine a room as big as a football field.• Manson offers EMGs as an alternative, but I can't imagine anyone objecting to the sound of the Seymours.• I can't imagine anyone wearing clothes that colour.• Just imagine having to spend the rest of your life in jail.• It was hard to imagine how the system could be improved or made more convenient.• Surely she'd imagined it; the light wasn't very good, and Jean knew that shadows could be misleading.• She had never suffered from claustrophobia, but right now she could imagine just how its victims felt.• But then you can't imagine that, can you?• Mary was always imagining that people were talking about her behind her back.• For a while she imagined that she was a rich woman, living in a beautiful house.• When I was a child I would lie awake imagining that there were monsters in the dark corners of my room.• ""I'm sure I saw Brian in the park today.'' ""No, you must be imagining things. Brian hasn't lived here for nearly fifteen years.''• In an effort to restrain himself, he tried to imagine things in the worst possible light.• From the description Janet gave in her letter it was easy to imagine what her new apartment was like.• I can quite easily imagine you running your own business.imagine (that)• That man can read a wind sock quicker, better, than anyone you can imagine.• It appeared that Montpelier was far more dangerous than anyone could ever have imagined.• Perhaps I just imagined hearing her moaning a little in the night, and shaking splinters of glass out of her long grey hair.• It was hard to imagine how the system could be improved or made more convenient.• She had not imagined she would ever dare say this aloud.• Imagine that you've just won six million dollars.• He reconstructed the events as he imagined they had happened that evening in April.• He imagined this woman draped on Humphrey Bogart's arm and walking into a seedy bar.• I imagined trophies to be special drinking glasses for very large people.• I imagine you're feeling pretty homesick.imagine (that)• It appeared that Montpelier was far more dangerous than anyone could ever have imagined.• That man can read a wind sock quicker, better, than anyone you can imagine.• Perhaps I just imagined hearing her moaning a little in the night, and shaking splinters of glass out of her long grey hair.• It was hard to imagine how the system could be improved or made more convenient.• She had not imagined she would ever dare say this aloud.• He reconstructed the events as he imagined they had happened that evening in April.• He imagined this woman draped on Humphrey Bogart's arm and walking into a seedy bar.• I imagined trophies to be special drinking glasses for very large people.imagine (that)• It appeared that Montpelier was far more dangerous than anyone could ever have imagined.• That man can read a wind sock quicker, better, than anyone you can imagine.• Perhaps I just imagined hearing her moaning a little in the night, and shaking splinters of glass out of her long grey hair.• It was hard to imagine how the system could be improved or made more convenient.• She had not imagined she would ever dare say this aloud.• He reconstructed the events as he imagined they had happened that evening in April.• He imagined this woman draped on Humphrey Bogart's arm and walking into a seedy bar.• I imagined trophies to be special drinking glasses for very large people.Origin imagine (1300-1400) French imaginer, from Latin imaginari, from imago; → IMAGE 