image

noun im·age \ ˈi-mij \

|Updated on: 13 Aug 2018

Definition of image

1 : a reproduction or imitation of the form of a person or thing; especially : an imitation in solid form : statue

2 a : the optical counterpart of an object produced by an optical device (such as a lens or mirror) or an electronic device

b : a visual representation of something: such as

(1) : a likeness of an object produced on a photographic material

(2) : a picture produced on an electronic display (such as a television or computer screen)

3 a : exact likeness : semblance

God created man in his own image
—Genesis 1:27 (Revised Standard Version)

b : a person strikingly like another person

she is the image of her mother

4 a : a tangible or visible representation : incarnation

the image of filial devotion

b archaic : an illusory form : apparition

5 a (1) : a mental picture or impression of something

had a negative body image of herself

(2) : a mental conception held in common by members of a group and symbolic of a basic attitude and orientation

a disorderly courtroom can seriously tarnish a community's image of justice
—Herbert Brownell

b : idea, concept

6 : a vivid or graphic representation or description

7 : figure of speech

8 : a popular conception (as of a person, institution, or nation) projected especially through the mass media

promoting a corporate image of brotherly love and concern
—R. C. Buck

9 : a set of values given by a mathematical function (such as a homomorphism) that corresponds to a particular subset of the domain

See image defined for English-language learners

See image defined for kids

Examples of image in a Sentence

She studied her image in the mirror.
The kids sat staring at the images on the TV screen.
painters capturing images of war
black-and-white images of the city
His poem evokes images of the sea and warm summer days.
He is trying hard to improve his image.
The law suit has negatively affected the company's public image.
a politician who cares more about image than about telling the truth

Recent Examples of image from the Web

The spacecraft finally pierced the cometary veil of dust and shining glitter gas and produced the first image of the comet’s nucleus.

— dennis overbye, BostonGlobe.com, "Bradford Smith, 86, dies; showed postcards from outer space," 13 July 2018
Many of us are moved by images of crying children, alone and scared.

— nina bahadur, SELF, "6 Impactful Ways to Help Migrant Families Separated at the Border," 13 July 2018
Back home in Dayton, Larry was learning soldiers weren’t the only ones eager to see images of his dancers.

— Cincinnati Enquirer, "Read more from this Project," 13 July 2018
There is another image of Modric that can't be ignored.

— jonathan wilson, SI.com, "Luka Modric's Croatia Success Story Comes With Complications," 13 July 2018
The images from the ’30s and ’40s, years of glorious elegance pre- and post-World War II, are classics worthy of genuflection, many inhabiting the realm of poetry.

— laura jacobs, WSJ, "‘Icons of Style: A Century of Fashion Photography, 1911-2011’ Review: Capturing the Trend," 10 July 2018
He was seen in a surveillance image from RIVA Motorsports on the day of the killing.

— johnny diaz, Sun-Sentinel.com, "XXXTentacion signed $10 million record deal before his death, report says," 9 July 2018
O’Reilly suggested that the magnifying glasses were used to examine a still image from the video purported to show Gore was the shooter.

— david owens, courant.com, "Hartford Man Sentenced To 60 Years In Prison For 2017 Murder," 2 July 2018
The collection, which includes shirts, tops, jackets, and bags mostly made of denim features one of the brand’s most memorable images from the ’80s: Brooke Shields kicking up a leg as shot by Richard Avedon.

— aubri juhasz, The Cut, "Calvin Klein’s New Label Is a Nostalgic Throwback," 13 July 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of image

Middle English, "effigy, figure, mental impression of something observed, reflection, resemblance," borrowed from Anglo-French, shortened from imagene, borrowed from Latin imāgin-, imāgō "representation, reflection, apparition, semblance, copy, visible form," from imā- (probably the stem of an otherwise unattested verb *imārī with the same base as imitārī "to follow as a pattern, copy") + -gin-, -gō, denominal or deverbal noun suffix — more at imitate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

image Synonyms

Synonyms

abstraction, cogitation, concept, conception, idea, impression, intellection, mind's eye, notion, picture, thought;

Near Antonyms

actuality, fact, reality;

preconception, prejudice, prepossession;

delusion, hallucination, illusion, phantasm (also fantasm);

caprice, conceit, fancy, vagary, whim;

cognition, observation, perception, reflection;

assumption, belief, conclusion, conviction;

conjecture, guess, hunch, hypothesis, speculation, supposition, surmise, theory;

brainchild, brainstorm, brain wave, inspiration;

Other Pictures (on film) Terms

daguerreotype, emulsion, fill, sepia, still, stop

image

verb

Definition of image

imaged; imaging

transitive verb

1 : to call up a mental picture of : imagine

2 : to describe or portray in language especially in a vivid manner

3 a : to create a representation of; also : to form an image of

imaged Jupiter's rings

image the bone using X-rays

b : to represent symbolically

4 a : reflect, mirror

b : to make appear : project

—

imager

play \ˈi-mi-jər\ noun

Examples of image in a Sentence

in the painting Sacagawea is imaged as an intrepid woman pointing the way for Lewis and Clark
the brochure images a vacation at the resort in language that makes you want to make a reservation this instant

Recent Examples of image from the Web

The researchers aimed at the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex because dozens of small neuro-imaging studies have reported that in people deemed antisocial or aggressive or both, this region is typically smaller and less active than in other people.

— sharon begley, STAT, "Can zapping people’s brains reduce violence? Controversial study sees potential," 2 July 2018
But recently the Butlers and their company MARS Bioimaging tested the full size version of the scanner on Phil, who allowed his ankle and wrist, including his wristwatch, to be imaged.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "Check Out These Awesome New 3D, Full-Color X-Rays," 13 July 2018
The Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE), a joint CAS and European Space Agency mission, will pioneer a new technique for imaging Earth's magnetosphere.

— dennis normile, Science | AAAS, "New China space missions will watch for colliding black holes, solar blasts," 11 July 2018
And, needless to say the whole imaged fit the theme perfectly.

— avery matera, Teen Vogue, "Kylie Jenner Wears Red Latex in the New Kylie Cosmetics Ad," 10 July 2018
Core needle biopsy: This is usually used to assess a lump that your doctor can see via imaging tests or feel during a breast exam, the Mayo Clinic says.

— korin miller, SELF, "8 Helpful Things to Know About Getting a Breast Biopsy Before It Happens," 27 June 2018
Our tele-ophthalmology mobile unit equipped with state-of-the art imaging devices, the nation’s first, travels to New York City’s underserved neighborhoods.

— steven j. corwin, Recode, "Let’s make telemedicine available to all," 25 June 2018
Earlier this year, on one Electron, Rocket Lab launched birds from Earth-imaging company Planet and ship-tracking and weather-data company Spire.

— sarah scoles, WIRED, "It's Business Time for Rocket Lab, Launcher of Small Satellites," 22 June 2018
American high school students in California built a CubeSat to image Venus, stars, and other celestial objects and determine the distances to stars.

— jay bennett, Popular Mechanics, "Rocket Lab to Attempt "It's Business Time" Launch Tonight," 22 June 2018

Origin and Etymology of image

Middle English imagen, in part derivative of image ¹image, in part borrowed from Middle French ymagier "to imagine," derivative of image

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

image Synonyms

Synonyms

delineate, depict, describe, draw, limn, paint, picture, portray, render, set out, sketch;

Near Antonyms

color, distort, falsify, garble, misdescribe, misrepresent, misstate, pervert, twist, warp;

demonstrate, illustrate;

narrate, recite, recount, rehearse, relate, report, tell;

display, exhibit, show;

hint, suggest;

draft, outline, silhouette, trace, vignette;

summarize, sum up, touch off;

redescribe, reimage;

IMAGE Defined for English Language Learners

image

noun

Definition of image for English Language Learners

: a picture that is produced by a camera, artist, mirror, etc.
: a mental picture : the thought of how something looks or might look
: the idea that people have about someone or something

IMAGE Defined for Kids

image

noun im·age \ ˈi-mij \

Definition of image for Students

1 : a picture or reflection of something produced by a device (as a mirror or lens)

We watched the images on the screen.

2 : someone who looks very much like another

She is the image of her mother.

3 : the thought of how something looks

An image appeared in his head of his parents hugging each other and crying.
—Louis Sachar, Holes

4 : a representation (as a picture or statue) of something

5 : an idea of what someone or something is like

He has an image as a troublemaker.

Medical Dictionary

image

noun im·age \ ˈim-ij \

medical Definition of image

1 a : the optical counterpart of an object produced by an optical device (as a lens or mirror) or an electronic device — see real image, virtual image

b : a likeness of an object produced on a photographic material

2 : a mental picture or impression of something

had a negative body image of herself

: as

a (1) : a mental conception held in common by members of a group and symbolic of a basic attitude and orientation

the compassionate small-town family doctor, an image that the AMA deeply admires
—Current Biography

(2) : an idealized conception of a person and especially a parent that is formed by an infant or child, is retained in the unconscious, and influences behavior in later life

the overwhelming influence of the mother image
—John Messenger

— called also imago

b : the memory of a perception in psychology that is modified by subsequent experience; also : the representation of the source of a stimulus on a receptor mechanism