imagination

noun

imag·​i·​na·​tion i-ˌma-jə-ˈnā-shən 

1

: the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality

the invention only exists in his imagination

children with overactive imaginations

It's a figment of your imagination.

2

a

: creative ability

a competent writer but with little imagination

b

: ability to confront and deal with a problem : resourcefulness

Use your imagination and get us out of here.

c

: the thinking or active mind : interest

stories that fire/catch/capture the imagination

3

a

: a creative product of the mind

especially : an idealized or poetic creation

b

: fanciful or empty assumption

… she would carry the vivid imaginations away with her and brood over them the next day alone.

—Theodore Dreiser

c

: something that only exists in one's mind

Is it my imagination, or is it getting hot in here?

Synonyms of imagination

• creativity
• imaginativeness

Examples of imagination in a Sentence

You can find a solution if you use a little imagination.

The author does not tell us what happens to the characters. We have to use our imagination.

He's a competent writer, but he lacks imagination.

Is it just my imagination, or is it getting warm in here?

Recent Examples on the Web

Saving the Witness Tree 🌳 Rick Wise let his imagination wander for a bit, thinking about an oak tree that's about 50 years older than our country. — Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2026

The team crafted a game with unrelenting waves of imagination, which begins with the setting. — Gieson Cacho, Mercury News, 21 Aug. 2026

There is no reason entering the 2026 season to dismiss any Cignetti mythology the imagination can manufacture. — Joe Rexrode, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026

In an offseason that demanded improvement given the upper crust in the Western Conference — San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Minnesota — the Nuggets lacked creativity and imagination. — Troy Renck, Denver Post, 20 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ymaginacioun, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French ymaginacion, borrowed from Latin imāginātiōn-, imāginātiō, from imāginārī "to imagine" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing imagination

• a figment of one's imagination
• by any/no stretch of the imagination
• capture/catch someone's imagination
• capture someone's imagination
• catch the imagination of
• caught the public imagination
• flight of fancy/imagination/fantasy
• leave little to the imagination
• leave nothing to the imagination
• leave something to the imagination
• lively imagination

Rhymes for imagination

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration

Kids Definition

imagination

noun

imag·​i·​na·​tion im-ˌaj-ə-ˈnā-shən 

1

: the act or power of forming a mental picture of something not present and especially of something one has not known or experienced

2

: creative ability

3

: a creation of the mind

Medical Definition

imagination

noun

imag·​i·​na·​tion im-ˌaj-ə-ˈnā-shən 

: an act or process of forming a conscious idea or mental image of something never before wholly perceived in reality by the one forming the images (as through a synthesis of remembered elements of previous sensory experiences or ideas as modified by unconscious defense mechanisms)

also : the ability or gift of forming such conscious ideas or mental images especially for the purposes of artistic or intellectual creation