Synonyms of imagination

imagination

noun

i-ˌma-jə-ˈnā-shən 

1

as in creativity

the ability to form mental images of things that either are not physically present or have never been conceived or created by others

a cartoonist needs a fertile imagination in order to create interesting cartoons on demand

Synonyms & Similar Words

• creativity
• imaginativeness
• inventiveness
• fertility
• fantasy
• ideation
• originality
• invention
• resourcefulness
• ingenuity
• contrivance
• fancy
• inspiration
• dream
• fecundity
• brainstorming
• versatility
• daydream
• figment
• illusion
• brainstorm
• delusion
• hallucination
• visualization
• mirage
• pipe dream
• chimera
• phantasm
• mind's eye
• envisaging

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• literalness
• literality

2

as in creativeness

the skill and imagination to create new things

she lacks the imagination to be anything but an imitator of other directors' cinematic styles

Synonyms & Similar Words

• creativity
• creativeness
• imaginativeness
• ingenuity
• talent
• inventiveness
• innovativeness
• originality
• cleverness
• ingeniousness
• invention
• productivity
• resourcefulness
• productiveness
• fecundity
• capableness
• fertility
• fruitfulness
• prolificness
• muse
• prolificity
• genius
• inspiration
• giftedness
• prolificacy
• fire

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• dryness
• dullness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of imagination

That story can be read as an allegory for how our memories and imaginations work as readers. — Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2026

Through the lens of science fiction, Fawaz has created a story that finds wonder, hope, and imagination amid the trauma of displacement. — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 7 Aug. 2026

Like fainting, craving pickles, or struggling to wiggle into skinny jeans, vomiting, in the cultural imagination, is a stand-in for imminent motherhood, as legible as any pregnancy test. — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2026

Such fraudulence bore only poisoned fruit, swelling overseas bank accounts for the Manchurian candidates who were seeding duplicity into the loam of their nation’s imagination. — Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2026