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
nounFrom the M-W Editors
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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Cottonwood Canyon was originally conceived as a rustic high desert getaway, different from the other parks in the system.
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They were conceived through a process that combines genetic screening with in vitro fertilization.
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During every regular session of the Legislature, lawmakers introduce plenty of misguided, ill-conceived or just plain hapless bills.
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Strickland’s ex-wife, now named Kimberly Day, gave birth to a son conceived with an anonymous sperm donor.
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The mission was first conceived in 1958, the year NASA came into existence.
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The fifth season of House of Cards, however, was written long before Trump and was conceived even earlier, as the plot was set up in the fourth season.
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Starting with France's fearsome Char2c in the early 1920s and ending with the highly capable M1 Abrams battle tank in service today, tanks have become a fixture of the modern battlefield—and these are five of the biggest tanks ever conceived.
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Realdoll was originally conceived by special-effects artist and sculptor Matt McMullen as a life-size, posable sculpture.
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
First Known Use: 14th century
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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