ideation

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noun ide·a·tion \ ˌī-dē-ˈā-shən \

Updated on: 26 Jul 2017

Definition of ideation

:the capacity for or the act of forming or entertaining ideas

suicidal ideation

Examples of ideation in a Sentence

caregivers are trained to watch for signs of depression and suicidal ideation—some patients are likely to put their fantasies to action

Recent Examples of ideation from the Web

Fashion writer, author, company cofounder, entrepreneur and chief ideation officer Hillary Kerr can do it all.

— susannah hutcheson, USA TODAY College, "How I became a fashion mogul: Hillary Kerr," 25 Aug. 2017
Since the program is intended to guide students through the ideation process, applicants don't need to have a business plan.

— sarah hauer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Gener8tor to help UW-Madison students launch startups," 24 Aug. 2017
Note: There is some discussion of suicide and suicidal ideation.

— ellen mcgirt, Fortune, "Five Breaking News Haikus," 23 June 2017
Suge Knight (played by Dominic L. Santana) is seen more as a tough mentor and not the psychological master manipulator that previous ideations of Knight have portrayed.

— kathy iandoli, Billboard, "Perhaps There Were Too Many Eyes On Tupac Biopic 'All Eyez On Me'," 22 June 2017
Patients with opioid addiction last year were eight times more likely than people without addiction to have alcoholism, nearly seven times as likely to have suicidal ideation and more than twice as likely to suffer from depression.

— terry demio, Cincinnati.com, "Kentucky has most opioid-dependent patients with private insurance," 19 June 2017
In Mandel’s perfect world, ketamine would be FDA approved to treat depression and suicide ideation.

— rene chun, Los Angeles Magazine, "Inside the Los Angeles Clinic That Uses Ketamine to Treat Depression," 19 June 2017
The next session will be a three-hour ideation bootcamp on June 13 in conference rooms at Golden Pacific Bank, 980 Ninth St. in Sacramento.

— cathie anderson, sacbee.com, "Roseville shop seriously spoils pets, owners," 1 June 2017
Later in life, that desperation evolves into isolation, estrangement from family, and occasional suicidal ideation.

— jen richards, Cosmopolitan, "Caitlyn Jenner's Secrets of My Life Reviewed: A Wholly Unsurprising, Mostly Underwhelming Tragedy," 22 May 2017

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

First Known Use of ideation

1818

ideation Synonyms

Synonyms

contrivance, creativity, fancy, fantasy (also phantasy), imagination, imaginativeness, invention, inventiveness, originality

Related Words

brainstorm, brainstorming, inspiration; fecundity, fertility; ingenuity, resourcefulness; versatility; chimera, daydream, delusion, dream, figment, hallucination, illusion, mind's eye, mirage, phantasm (also fantasm), pipe dream; envisaging, visualization

Near Antonyms

literality, literalness

Financial Definition of IDEATION

ideation

noun

What It Is

Ideation is the act of forming ideas.

How It Works

For example, let's say Company XYZ makes widgets, and it wants to get into the children's widget market. Its product development team starts brainstorming ideas for specs, features and production methods.

This ideation process includes listing possible product features, designing prototypes, manufacturing prototypes, doing market research, and going back to square one with various iterations until something marketable and profitable emerges.

In a purely marketing context, ideation might involve creating an image board or concept for advertising.

Why It Matters

Ideation is what many business people spend a significant time doing. Without creativity, experimentation and dreaming, businesses would be far less innovative and thus far less profitable.

Source: Investing Answers