conceive

verb

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con·ceive | \ kən-ˈsēv

conceived; conceiving

Definition of conceive

transitive verb

1a : to become pregnant with (young) conceive a child

b : to cause to begin : originate a project conceived by the company's founder

2a : to take into one's mind conceive a prejudice

b : 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 emptinessIt is hard to conceive of all the work that must have been involved in starting off from scratch.— Harold Fromm

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Choose the Right Synonym for conceive

think, conceive, imagine, fancy, realize, envisage, envision mean to form an idea of. think implies the entrance of an idea into one's mind with or without deliberate consideration or reflection. I just thought of a good joke conceive suggests the forming and bringing forth and usually developing of an idea, plan, or design. conceived of a new marketing approach imagine stresses a visualization. imagine you're at the beach fancy suggests an imagining often unrestrained by reality but spurred by desires. fancied himself a super athlete realize stresses a grasping of the significance of what is conceived or imagined. realized the enormity of the task ahead envisage and envision imply a conceiving or imagining that is especially clear or detailed. envisaged a totally computerized operation envisioned a cure for the disease

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 on the Web The condition is scarcely diagnosed because when a woman becomes pregnant her hormones tell her body to not conceive again. — Asha C. Gilbert, USA TODAY, "Can you get pregnant while you're already pregnant? It's rare, but yes.," 14 Apr. 2021 Perhaps, just perhaps, the tumah can also be seen as an expression of empathy by the birthing mother for couples who are struggling to conceive or couples who have had losses before birth. — Rabbi Avi Weiss, sun-sentinel.com, "Tazria-Metzorah: The pain of early termination of pregnancy," 13 Apr. 2021 Adding to the pressure to conceive quickly was Suvari's age. — Benjamin Vanhoose, PEOPLE.com, "He's Here! Mena Suvari Gives Birth to First Baby, Son Christopher Alexander, with Husband Michael Hope," 9 Apr. 2021 Across the board, the pandemic has highlighted the unique challenges women and their partners face when deciding to conceive. — Ann Scott Tyson, The Christian Science Monitor, "Is a pandemic the time to have a baby? Potential moms wrestle with question.," 5 Apr. 2021 Based on your relationship with your parents, this tip can be tough to even conceive of trying, which is completely understandable. — Israa Nasir, SELF, "8 Tips for Talking About Mental Health With Your Asian Family," 2 Apr. 2021 Bestor and veteran stage director Louanne Madorma are collaborating to cast, conceive and produce the production, using all Utah talent and crew. — Sean P. Means, The Salt Lake Tribune, "Eccles Theater will reopen in May, with Utah musicians performing Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music," 24 Mar. 2021 In contrast to Ireland, Britain thinks of its security in a global, geographically ambitious way, but increasingly seems to conceive of its soft power in a local and more limited way. — Mike O'sullivan, Forbes, "Island Power - What Different Approaches To Geopolitics By Ireland And Britain Tell Us About Security," 20 Mar. 2021 A year ago, abject pessimism was the only rational position; today, there is reason to conceive a memorial that reflects both tragedy and optimism. — Justin Davidson, Curbed, "How Will We Remember This?," 15 Mar. 2021

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.