envisage

verb en·vis·age \ in-ˈvi-zij , en- \

Definition of envisage

envisaged; envisaging

transitive verb

1 :to view or regard in a certain way

envisages the slum as a hotbed of crime

2 :to have a mental picture of especially in advance of realization

envisages an entirely new system of education

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envisage was our Word of the Day on 10/15/2012. Hear the podcast!

Examples of envisage in a Sentence

I envisage a day when proper health care will be available to everyone.
I'm trying to envisage you on a surfboard.

Recent Examples of envisage from the Web

Navara's 19.h4 envisaged the energetic idea of Bb1, creating serious threats on the b1-h7 diagonal and to further cramp Black with h5.

— michael ciamarra, AL.com, "National chess tournament won by Alabama player, local results and games," 4 Aug. 2017
Now, the $11 billion base is beginning to look like the garrison that military planners envisaged decades ago.

— katherine sayre, NOLA.com, "Petition to remove traffic light cameras circulating in New Orleans: Fox 8," 29 July 2017
Now, the $11 billion base is beginning to look like the garrison that military planners envisaged decades ago.

— anna fifield, Alaska Dispatch News, "As North Korea intensifies missile program, U.S. opens $11 billion base in South Korea," 29 July 2017
Now, the $11 billion base is beginning to look like the garrison that military planners envisaged decades ago.

— the washington post, OregonLive.com, "US opens new $11 billion base in South Korea as North Korea missile program intensifies," 29 July 2017
Now, the $11 billion base is beginning to look like the garrison that military planners envisaged decades ago.

— anna fifield, Washington Post, "As North Korea intensifies its missile program, the U.S. opens an $11 billion base in South Korea," 29 July 2017
Iran envisages a future Shiite crescent of influence, that would stretch from Tehran through Iraq, Syria and into Lebanon, backed by Russia, and would change the balance of power in the region.

— stephen collinson, CNN, "The world looks past Donald Trump," 4 July 2017
The draft bill envisages extending police powers to stop and search people or conduct house searches.

— brian love, The Christian Science Monitor, "Would France's counter-terrorism bill violate public freedoms or protect its citizens?," 27 June 2017
Asked to envisage high rises with a footprint of just over 1,000 square feet, the winners of a new architecture competition, Hong Kong Pixel Homes, offer bold visions of vertical space in a city whose skyline has been defined by it.

— oscar holland, CNN, "Vertical limit: Architects reimagine Hong Kong's high-rise housing," 22 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'envisage.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Envisage has been part of the English language since the 17th century. In the early 19th century, it was sometimes used with the now archaic sense of "to meet squarely" or "to confront." By 1837, the word had developed the sense "to have a mental picture of." In the 1920s, some usage commentators began deriding envisage for reasons not entirely clear, declaring it "undesirable." Today, time and usage have won out, and envisage is widely used and accepted, though it is slightly formal in tone. The same can be said of its near twin envision ("to picture to oneself"), which has been with us since the late 19th century and is interchangeable with envisage in many contexts.

Origin and Etymology of envisage

French envisager, from en- + visage face

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First Known Use: 1660

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envisage Synonyms

Synonyms

conceit [chiefly dialect], conceive, conjure (up), dream, imagine, envision, fancy, fantasize, fantasy, feature, ideate, image, picture, see, vision, visualize

Related Words

daydream, stargaze; hallucinate; re-create, reflect, relive, reminisce; contemplate, meditate, muse, ponder, ruminate; concoct, fabricate, invent, make up, manufacture, plan, project; foresee, prefigure

Synonym Discussion of envisage

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

ENVISAGE Defined for English Language Learners

envisage

verb

Definition of envisage for English Language Learners

: to picture (something) in your mind

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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for envisage Spanish Central: Translation of envisage Nglish: Translation of envisage for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of envisage for Arabic speakers

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envisage

Definition of envisage

envisage was our Word of the Day on 10/15/2012. Hear the podcast!

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envisage

Definition of envisage

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envisage was our Word of the Day on 10/15/2012. Hear the podcast!

Examples of envisage in a Sentence

Recent Examples of envisage from the Web

Did You Know?

Origin and Etymology of envisage

envisage Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Synonym Discussion of envisage

ENVISAGE Defined for English Language Learners

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Definition of envisage for English Language Learners

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