Definition of conceive
conceived
;conceiving
transitive verb
1a : to become pregnant with (young) conceive a childb : to cause to begin : originate a project conceived by the company's founder
2a : to take into one's mind conceive a prejudiceb : to form a conception of : imagine a badly conceived design cleverly conceived teleplays
3 : to apprehend by reason or imagination : understand unable to conceive his reasons It is easy enough to conceive the notion that your island is a sort of fortress. — Paul Theroux
4 : to have as an opinion I cannot conceive that he acted alone.
intransitive verb
1 : to become pregnant
2 : to have a conception —usually used with of conceives of death as emptiness It is hard to conceive of all the work that must have been involved in starting off from scratch. — Harold Fromm
conceiver
nounExplore M-W
Examples of conceive in a Sentence
When the writer conceived this role, he had a specific actor in mind to play the part.
As conceived by the committee, the bill did not raise taxes.
a woman who has been unable to conceive
a woman who has been unable to conceive a child
Recent Examples of conceive from the Web
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Originally conceived as another outlet for Jessica Koslow’s splendid jams, Sqirl grew into the neighborhood commissary.
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Without carbon there would be no polymers with which to make either wool or rubber, no muscles with which to rub the two together, no brains to conceive of doing so—or of explaining what happens afterwards.
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Instead, it is made up of lines of computer code conceived in 2009 by a coder working under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.
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Owners Nick and Sarah Suarez have conceived a brilliant space where exceptional ingredients from nearby farms can shine.
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Marriage, Bishop noted, is today commonly conceived less as a semi-self-sacrificial commitment—forsaking all others—and more as a means to deeper personal fulfillment.
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The program was conceived of in 2014 by a few people including that cop.
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But an argument can be made that the entire exercise is ill conceived and even somewhat cynical.
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Owner Daniel Landucci has come up with a well-conceived, streamlined idea for those looking for healthy dining in the Downtown corridor.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'conceive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of conceive
Middle English, from Anglo-French conceivre, from Latin concipere to take in, conceive, from com- + capere to take — more at heave
Synonym Discussion of conceive
CONCEIVE Defined for English Language Learners
conceive
playDefinition of conceive for English Language Learners
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: to think of or create (something) in the mind
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: to become pregnant
CONCEIVE Defined for Kids
Medical Dictionary
conceive
playMedical Definition of conceive
conceived
;conceiving
transitive verb
: to become pregnant with (young)intransitive verb
: to become pregnant
Learn More about conceive
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See words that rhyme with conceive Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for conceive Spanish Central: Translation of conceive Nglish: Translation of conceive for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of conceive for Arabic speakers
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