imagery

noun

im·​ag·​ery ˈi-mij-rē 

-mi-jə-

plural imageries

1

a

: pictures produced by an imaging system

imagery from the satellite

b

: the product of image makers : images

A host of computer animation tools … have made it easier to create, manipulate, and multiply imagery.

—Dike Blair et al.

also : the art of making images

2

: figurative language

a poem with biblical imagery

3

: mental images

especially : the products of imagination

Examples of imagery in a Sentence

The book contains a great deal of sexual imagery.

The movie was full of biblical imagery.

Recent Examples on the Web

The budding photographer started bringing a camera with him on his underwater adventures to document his dives, with imagery posted on social media sharing sea species such as leopard sharks and swaying kelp forests that dance with the ebb of the ocean. —Laylan Connelly, Oc Register, 5 Feb. 2026

Planetary scientist Jeff Plescia of Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory soon began to search the LROC imagery for Soviet landers, combing Oceanus Procellarum despite knowing that success was unlikely. —Ilya Ferapontov, Scientific American, 5 Feb. 2026

The imagery echoed decades of Black activism, from civil rights-era protest to modern calls for social justice. —Dallas Morning News, 4 Feb. 2026

That feels like quite a significant shift in our relationship to violent imagery. —William Earl, Variety, 4 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ymagerie "images portrayed in sculpture, painting, etc.," borrowed from Anglo-French, from ymage, image image entry 1 + -erie -ery

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Phrases Containing imagery

• satellite imagery

Kids Definition

imagery

noun

im·​ag·​ery ˈim-ij-(ə-)rē 

plural imageries

1

: images that can be seen or that are imagined

2

: language that suggests how someone or something looks, sounds, feels, smells, or tastes

Medical Definition

imagery

noun

im·​ag·​ery ˈim-ij-(ə-)rē 

plural imageries

: mental images

eidetic imagery

especially : the products of imagination

psychotic imagery