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Imagination

n. hopeful, energetic everyday

What it means

Meaning 1

The ability to form pictures, possibilities, or ideas beyond what is immediately present.

Reach for it when praising creative thought that opens a new way to see or solve something

Lena used imagination to turn the safety lesson into a memorable street game.

Meaning 2

Awareness that another person's experience may differ from one's own.

Reach for it when recognizing the mental reach needed for empathy or sound judgment

It took imagination to understand why the same doorway felt unsafe to a child.

Words to choose between 8

By register, from playful at the top to literary at the bottom, and by meaning across. Tap a word to see when it fits.
Meaning 1Meaning 2
everyday
warm
professional
formal
literary

Meaning 1: The ability to form pictures, possibilities, or ideas beyond what is immediately present.

  • everyday

    creativity

    Fits when producing original ideas or work is the focus

    Careful Creativity emphasizes making, while imagination also includes private mental pictures.

  • professional

    inventiveness

    Fits when novel ideas solve a practical problem

    Careful Inventiveness is too solution-focused for fantasy or emotional perspective.

  • professional

    vision

    Fits when a coherent future direction needs to guide others

    Careful Vision is organized and forward-looking, unlike free-ranging imagination.

  • formal

    foresight

    Fits when anticipating future consequences is the desired strength

    Careful Foresight is narrower and more predictive than imagination.

  • formal

    originality

    Fits when the unusual newness of an idea deserves praise

    Careful Originality describes difference from prior work, not mental range.

  • literary

    fancy

    Fits when playful or decorative mental invention suits the tone

    Careful Fancy can sound slight when the thinking is disciplined and useful.

Meaning 2: Awareness that another person's experience may differ from one's own.

  • warm

    empathy

    Fits when accurately feeling with another person is central

    Careful Empathy is emotional understanding, not the broader capacity to imagine.

  • professional

    perspective

    Fits when considering another viewpoint improves a decision

    Careful Perspective may come from evidence or experience without imaginative effort.

Opposites 3

  • literal-mindedness
  • unimaginativeness
  • insensitivity

Common phrases 3

  • vivid imagination

    His vivid imagination filled the blank stage with an entire harbor.

  • spark the imagination

    The strange fossil can spark the imagination of even a reluctant learner.

  • act of imagination

    Designing for an unfamiliar body is an act of imagination as well as engineering.

Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Dvortygirl, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Updated