image

noun

im·age | \ ˈi-mij

Definition of image

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : 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)

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

2a(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

3 : 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

4a : 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

5a : a tangible or visible representation : incarnation the image of filial devotion

b archaic : an illusory form : apparition

6 : a vivid or graphic representation or description

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

8 : figure of speech

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

image

verb

imaged; imaging

Definition of image (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : 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

2 : to call up a mental picture of : imagine

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

4a : reflect, mirror

b : to make appear : project

5 : to make a disk image of Many computer forensics programs now include the option of imaging a suspect drive.— Yvonne Jewkes

Other Words from image Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about image

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Examples of image in a Sentence

Noun

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

Verb

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 on the Web: Noun

Meanwhile, fighter jets are flying conspicuous patrols over both countries, aggressively defending their airspace from further incursions, with images and video being shared on social media. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Aircraft Shot Down As Crisis Between India and Pakistan Escalates," 27 Feb. 2019 Miley has faced backlash for her occasionally outrageous music and image over the years, but Dolly has always had her back. — Kelly O'sullivan, Country Living, "How Is Dolly Parton Related to Miley Cyrus?," 10 Feb. 2019 Another image shows an International Harvester tractor still upright in the aircraft hangar. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Explorers Discover the Wreck of the Aircraft Carrier USS Hornet, Sunk in World War II," 12 Feb. 2019 The sweet image shows Eugenie's mother, Sarah Ferguson, carrying her on her shoulders. — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, "Princess Eugenie Just Shared the Sweetest Throwback Photo of Her and Sarah Ferguson as Ski Bunnies," 1 Feb. 2019 In an Instagram carousel of 3 moody, black-and-white images, Selena is seen peeking over her shoulder in white top, looking through a magnifying glass, and lying on a bed half covered in shadow. — Alison Caporimo, Seventeen, "Selena Gomez Breaks Her Silence To Thank Fans on Instagram After Year Of "Challenges"," 14 Jan. 2019 Satellite images of the volcano taken over the past few days show a large segment of the volcano’s flank that is now missing, bolstering the idea that a huge landslide might have caused this tsunami. — Mary Beth Griggs, The Verge, "Deadly Indonesian tsunami was not caused by an earthquake," 23 Dec. 2018 Hop on a world tour of photographer Gray Malin’s aerial images of sunbathers, with umbrellas dotting the sand like technicolor punctuation. — Curbed Staff, Curbed, "18 enticing new books on design, cities, and more," 14 Dec. 2018 An image posted on her Instagram account shows the actress reclining on a hospital bed, scars, tattoos, and bandages on full display, accompanied by a description of yesterday’s procedure. — Calin Van Paris, Vogue, "Lena Dunham Gets Real About Her Latest Surgery—And the Gender Bias Around Women’s Health Issues," 17 Oct. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

To me, overall imaging performance feels very similar to the X-T2. — Chris Welch, The Verge, "Fujifilm X-T3 review: the do-everything camera," 24 Oct. 2018 Their combined method has allowed them to image the fly brain in multiple colors in 62.5 hours, or roughly 2 and half days. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Scientists Mapped Entire Brains at Nanoscale For This Psychadelic Visualization," 18 Jan. 2019 Lawyers for Elsharkawi believe that his phone was imaged. — Cyrus Farivar, Ars Technica, "Man sues feds after being detained for refusing to unlock his phone at airport," 18 Dec. 2018 Well, the brain tissue expansion process embeds tissue into a hydrogel and then expands it, which allows for high resolution imaging with a regular microscope. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Honey, I Shrunk Everything: MIT Scientists Can Shrink Objects to the Nanoscale," 18 Dec. 2018 Further Reading Was your phone imaged by border agents? — Cyrus Farivar, Ars Technica, "Man sues feds after being detained for refusing to unlock his phone at airport," 18 Dec. 2018 The researchers also imaged the study participants’ brains to look for differences in brain volumes as well as changes to the white matter that insulates the brain’s biological wiring. — Rachel Becker, The Verge, "Don’t stress out yet about stress shrinking your brain," 25 Oct. 2018 In a first, astronomers witness the birth of a planet from gas and dust In the first convincing observation of its kind, astronomers have directly imaged a newborn planet still forming around its star. — Katie Langin, Science | AAAS, "Top stories: cycling and climate change, hidden pharma payments, and cursing surgeons," 6 July 2018 Katz's group has imaged 37 dogs so far, a reasonably robust number. — Lily Hay Newman, WIRED, "Puppy Brain Scans Could Help Pick the Best Bomb Sniffers," 27 May 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.

History and Etymology for image

Noun

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

Verb

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

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Dictionary Entries near image

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Last Updated

11 Mar 2019

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Time Traveler for image

The first known use of image was in the 13th century

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More Definitions for image

image

noun

English Language Learners Definition of image

: 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

See the full definition for image in the English Language Learners Dictionary

image

noun

im·age | \ ˈi-mij

Kids Definition of image

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.

image

noun

im·age | \ ˈim-ij

Medical Definition of image

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : 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

image

verb

imaged; imaging

Medical Definition of image (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to call up a mental picture of : imagine

2 : to create a representation of also : to form an image of the liver was imaged the animals were anesthetized and imaged with a gamma camera — R. T. Proffitt et al

intransitive verb

: to form an image