imagery

noun

im·​ag·​ery ˈi-mij-rē 

-mi-jə-

plural imageries

1

a

: pictures produced by an imaging system

imagery from the satellite

b

: the product of image makers : images

A host of computer animation tools … have made it easier to create, manipulate, and multiply imagery.

—Dike Blair et al.

also : the art of making images

2

: figurative language

a poem with biblical imagery

3

: mental images

especially : the products of imagination

Examples of imagery in a Sentence

The book contains a great deal of sexual imagery.

The movie was full of biblical imagery.

Recent Examples on the Web

Those artists were ironic and aloof, treating advertising and mass-media imagery as expressions of a broader fug of celebrity and consumerism. —Jeremy Lybarger, Artforum, 2 June 2026

While the Bourbon Street imagery dominates national coverage, Mardi Gras in New Orleans is deeply rooted in tradition and is really about a gathering of family and friends of all ages, with locals emphasizing community over chaos. —Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 2 June 2026

O’Farrell’s sentences — the musicality of her repetitions, the genial warmth of her narration, the visceral pleasures of her imagery — offer comfort against the backdrop of heartbreak so common to her fiction. —Rachel Vorona Cote, Vulture, 2 June 2026

The campaign is set on the streets of Los Angeles, catching Cameli in off-duty moments with candid, understated and personal imagery. —Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 2 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ymagerie "images portrayed in sculpture, painting, etc.," borrowed from Anglo-French, from ymage, image image entry 1 + -erie -ery

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Phrases Containing imagery

• satellite imagery

Kids Definition

imagery

noun

im·​ag·​ery ˈim-ij-(ə-)rē 

plural imageries

1

: images that can be seen or that are imagined

2

: language that suggests how someone or something looks, sounds, feels, smells, or tastes

Medical Definition

imagery

noun

im·​ag·​ery ˈim-ij-(ə-)rē 

plural imageries

: mental images

eidetic imagery

especially : the products of imagination

psychotic imagery