image

play

noun im·age \ˈi-mij\

Definition of image

1 : a reproduction or imitation of the form of a person or thing; especially : an imitation in solid form : statue
2a : the optical counterpart of an object produced by an optical device (such as a lens or mirror) or an electronic deviceb : 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)
3a : 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
4a : a tangible or visible representation : incarnation the image of filial devotionb archaic : an illusory form : apparition
5a (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 Brownellb : 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

An image of Stanton swinging a bat will replace that of the dancing girl, which normally graces the side of the Intercontinental.

— clark spencer, miamiherald, "Giancarlo Stanton is now the size of a skyscraper — literally", 5 July 2017
On Wednesday, Rob Kardashian posted a series of explicit images and messages to Instagram to call out Blac Chyna for, among other things, allegedly cheating on him and using drugs.

— lisa ryan, The Cut, "Rob Kardashian Posted Nude Pics of Blac Chyna Without Her Consent", 5 July 2017
In the days that followed, Logue, age 51, who has appeared in numerous films and currently stars in the Fox TV show, Gotham, and Kasey tweeted images of their daughter, begging her to come home and telling her she is loved. Jade Logue.

— robert silverman, Esquire, "Actor Donal Logue's 16-Year-Old Daughter Is Missing and He's Using Social Media to Ask for Help", 3 July 2017
Brzezinski responded, at first, by tweeting an image of the back of a box of Cheerios depicting a boy with small hands—

— emily jane fox, The Hive, "Exclusive: Mika Speaks! A Day After Trump’s Horrific Tweet, Brzezinski Reveals How It All Went Down", 30 June 2017
President Trump was reportedly moved to action after viewing images of Syrian children struggling to breathe from what has now been confirmed as exposure to sarin.

— aria bendix, The Atlantic, "Report Confirms Use of Chemical Weapons in Syrian Attack", 30 June 2017
The shells collected on Friday will be sent to the Verdugo Regional Crime Laboratory at the Glendale Police Department’s headquarters, where a 3-D image of each one will be scanned, markings and all.

— andy nguyen, Glendale News-Press, "Shell casings could prove key to solving crimes across Los Angeles County", 30 June 2017
That’s a popular image of me around here, and so be it.

— paul daugherty, Cincinnati.com, "Doc: While Homer Bailey shakes off the rust, let's see if there's a lesson here", 30 June 2017
That incongruous image of Claire walking amongst the Culloden dead?

— julie kosin, Harper's BAZAAR, "Outlander Season 3: Everything We Know So Far", 28 June 2017

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, from Anglo-French, short for imagene, from Latin imagin-, imago; perhaps akin to Latin imitari to imitate

NEW!

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

Other Pictures (on film) Terms

daguerreotype, emulsion, fill, sepia, still, stop

image

verb im·age

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
3a : to create a representation of; also : to form an image of imaged Jupiter's rings image the bone using X-raysb : to represent symbolically
4a : reflect, mirrorb : 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

Black and Hispanic patients were more likely to receive other ineffective services as well, including antipsychotics for those with dementia, imaging for an enlarged prostate and bone-density testing.

— michelle andrews, Kaiser Health News, "Quantity Over Quality? Minorities Shown To Get An Excess Of Ineffective Care", 9 June 2017

First Known Use of image

14th century

IMAGE Defined for English Language Learners

image

play

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

play

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

play

noun im·age \ˈim-ij\

Medical Definition of image

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 imageb: 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: asa (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 imagob: 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 im·age

Medical Definition of image

imaged

;

imaging

1
transitive verb

: 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