Definition of ENVISAGING

Choose the Right Synonym for 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

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.

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 on the Web The resolution should also envisage a broader mediation framework that starts with the acknowledgment that this has never been a war just between two sides. — Jamal Benomar, CNN, 5 May 2021 Being a sailor requires training, a readiness to face adversity and the ability to envisage the most extreme situations, as well as the acquisition of a specific culture. — Luc-christophe Guillerm, Scientific American, 16 Apr. 2021 With connection speeds of 10 Gbps, 5G will be up to 100 times faster than its fourth-generation predecessor and will allow an immersive mobile experience that is difficult to envisage for the majority of consumers right now. — Elad Natanson, Forbes, 5 Apr. 2021 There is however a small subgroup of leadership stories, known as springboard stories, that can trigger the imagination to envisage a new and alluring future, even with resisters. — Steve Denning, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2021 The business plan doesn’t envisage meaningful revenues before 2026. — Stephen Wilmot, WSJ, 1 Jan. 2021 A month ago, the 31-year-old forward didn't envisage being in London right now. — Rob Harris, Star Tribune, 2 Oct. 2020 But the works test, in the depths of the incommunicable, the degree of anyone’s courage to envisage the bad in life, the worse, and the almost inconceivably abysmal. — Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2020 When thinking of the future, today’s global citizens might envisage evolutions of existing centers of power—the concrete and glass of New York, Tokyo, London, and Beijing, only upgraded. — Darran Anderson, The Atlantic, 24 Aug. 2020

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.