1
as in innovation
something (as a device) created for the first time through the use of the imagination
his clever invention made people's lives easier
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2
as in fiction
something that is the product of the imagination
unsurprisingly, the story about being kidnapped by aliens was pure invention
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3
as in imagination
the ability to form mental images of things that either are not physically present or have never been conceived or created by others
a writer with great invention, she is able to create on the page worlds that don't exist but certainly seem like they could
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4
as in creativity
the skill and imagination to create new things
a person of seemingly endless invention, Thomas Edison held a world-record 1,093 patents
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of invention
Glass is a human invention, and its breakage is inevitably associated with human violence or a human accident: a burglar’s incursion, a child’s wayward baseball, a pogrom.
—
Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 22 May 2025
James Dyson is master of invention and reinvention — first the vacuum and now the hairdryer, with lots of ground-breaking innovation in between.
—Jennifer Weil, Footwear News, 20 May 2025
His invention projects closed captions into a pair of glasses with the aid of a Bluetooth connection to an iPhone, which provides the information into the microphone.
—Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 20 May 2025
With this one invention, millions of secretaries would soon be relieved of the drudgery of constant retyping, and the business office would have a boon in productivity almost as profound as the one the typewriter itself had ushered in long before.
—Pat Butler, Sportico.com, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for invention
Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 22 May 2025
James Dyson is master of invention and reinvention — first the vacuum and now the hairdryer, with lots of ground-breaking innovation in between.
—Jennifer Weil, Footwear News, 20 May 2025
His invention projects closed captions into a pair of glasses with the aid of a Bluetooth connection to an iPhone, which provides the information into the microphone.
—Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 20 May 2025
With this one invention, millions of secretaries would soon be relieved of the drudgery of constant retyping, and the business office would have a boon in productivity almost as profound as the one the typewriter itself had ushered in long before.
—Pat Butler, Sportico.com, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for invention
Recent Examples of Synonyms for invention
Noun
-
The Trump administration's stance on AI has largely aligned with that of companies, arguing that regulation would stymie innovation.—
Sudiksha Kochi,
USA Today,
7 June 2025
-
For well-resourced jurisdictions, this could spur innovation.—
Emil Sayegh,
Forbes.com,
7 June 2025
Noun
-
On his life as a moviegoer So vividly drawn is King’s fiction that it’s offered the basis for some 50 feature films.—
Jake Coyle,
Twin Cities,
5 June 2025
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From Paper to Protocol Today’s trade infrastructure is a patchwork of legal fictions and trust intermediaries - letters of credit, bills of lading, third-party guarantees - many of which exist solely to simulate trust.—
Sean Lee,
Forbes.com,
5 June 2025
Noun
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Environment builders go beyond the production of discreet, individual objects–like paintings or sculptures–to create entire worlds of imagination taking over their surroundings.—
Chadd Scott,
Forbes.com,
7 June 2025
-
Tha Carter revealed a new artist—one who could make hits and compete lyrically with not just his labelmates, but hip-hop’s elite, like his idol Jay-Z. C1 has been largely eclipsed in the public imagination by its Carter successors, but remains the most upbeat and bouncy of the series.—
Pitchfork,
Pitchfork,
6 June 2025
Noun
-
At The Horse Shoe Farm, an 85-acre boutique resort in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Turchin family has created a unique enclave of creativity, serenity, and natural beauty.—
Lydia Mansel,
Southern Living,
8 June 2025
-
In those eight years, the whirlwind of creativity was prodigious, and Basquiat is now established as one of the world’s most valuable artists.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
7 June 2025
Noun
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Guns, knives, swords, cleavers, axes, ice picks and flamethrowers will all be put to use in this tale of a revenge.—
Andrew Torgan,
CNN Money,
1 June 2025
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But the author does a fine job of giving readers a sense of place, with characters moving along the streets that surround Payne Avenue in this tale of a killer whose ambition is his ruin.—
Mary Ann Grossmann,
Twin Cities,
31 May 2025
Noun
-
The story is a fabrication from beginning to end, utterly and completely false.—
Jason O'Bryan,
Robb Report,
24 May 2025
-
The oversized garage has been used as an art studio, welding and fabrication shop, and for camper van storage.—
Sara B. Hansen,
Denver Post,
19 May 2025
Noun
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If so, this car reaches a new level of unfathomable American ingenuity, combined with a newfound level of refinement and traction management that attempts to belie the undeniable absurdity to a minimal, arguably necessary, extent.—
Michael Teo Van Runkle,
ArsTechnica,
30 May 2025
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Born into two legacies—the Vanderbilts of Gilded Age lore and the Wades of Western Union fame—Emily was the daughter of William Henry Vanderbilt III, former governor of Rhode Island, and a direct descendant of both industrial ingenuity and patrician civic duty.—
Annie Davidson,
Robb Report,
29 May 2025
Noun
-
Heller writes one of my favorite genres of high school novel: adults behaving badly.—
Miriam Gershow
June 9,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2025
-
The protagonist of this beguiling novel, Lina, lives with her father in a realm seemingly unbound by ordinary time.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
9 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Invention.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/invention. Accessed 14 Jun. 2025.
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