- 1[transitive] (formal) to form an idea, a plan, etc. in your mind; to imagine something conceive something He conceived the idea of transforming the old power station into an arts centre. conceive of something (as something) God is often conceived of as male. conceive (that)… I cannot conceive (= I do not believe) (that) he would wish to harm us. conceive what/how, etc… I cannot conceive what it must be like. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbbrilliantly, carefully, well, … verb + conceivecannot, be difficult to, be impossible to, … prepositionof See full entry
- 2[intransitive, transitive] when a woman conceives or conceives a child, she becomes pregnant She is unable to conceive. conceive somebody Their first child was conceived on their wedding night. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbnaturally, immaculately verb + conceivebe able to, be unable to See full entry See related entries: Pregnancy see also conception Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French concevoir, from Latin concipere, from com- ‘together’ + capere ‘take’.Word Familyconceive verbconceivable adjective (≠inconceivable)conceivably adverbconcept nounconception nounconceptual adjectiveExtra examples They conceived of a theory and stuck to it. I cannot conceive why you paid out so much money. It is difficult to conceive of a society without money. She was unable to conceive a child naturally and was offered fertility treatment. The course is very broadly conceived. The dam project was originally conceived in 1977. The plan was brilliantly conceived. We conceive of ourselves as individuals. the Christian belief in Jesus as being immaculately conceived
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BrE BrE//kənˈsiːv//; NAmE NAmE//kənˈsiːv//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they conceive BrE BrE//kənˈsiːv//; NAmE NAmE//kənˈsiːv//
he / she / it conceives BrE BrE//kənˈsiːvz//; NAmE NAmE//kənˈsiːvz//
past simple conceived BrE BrE//kənˈsiːvd//; NAmE NAmE//kənˈsiːvd//
past participle conceived BrE BrE//kənˈsiːvd//; NAmE NAmE//kənˈsiːvd//
-ing form conceiving BrE BrE//kənˈsiːvɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//kənˈsiːvɪŋ//
PregnancyCheck pronunciation: conceive
