imagine

Meanings

1. To form a picture or an idea in your mind.
2. To think that something is probably true.

Example sentences

• "Imagine a beach with warm sand and blue water."

  Level A2, Meaning 1

• "I cannot imagine living without music."

  Level B1, Meaning 1

• "I imagine you are tired after the journey."

  Level B1, Meaning 2

• "She imagined herself on the stage."

  Level B1, Meaning 1

Synonyms and antonyms

Look-alikes and common mistakes

• suppose : Suppose means to think that something is probably true. Imagine means to picture it in your mind, even if it is not real.

Word family and forms

Forms: imagines, imagined, imagining

Word partners

Words and phrases that often go with "imagine".

• imagine a world
• imagine that
• hard to imagine
• just imagine
• imagine life
• you can imagine

Origin

Imagine comes through Old and Middle French from Latin imago, which meant a copy or a likeness. To imagine is to make an image in the mind.

Checked against: Wiktionary, the free dictionary, Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Dictionary.com.

Usage notes

"Imagine" is often followed directly by a clause without "that," as in "imagine you could fly."

How to remember it

Imagine has "image" at its start, and an image is what you make when you imagine.

Test yourself

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