conceive

[ kuhn-seev ]
See synonyms for conceive on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),con·ceived, con·ceiv·ing.
  1. to form (a notion, opinion, purpose, etc.): He conceived the project while he was on vacation.

  2. to form a notion or idea of; imagine.

  1. to hold as an opinion; think; believe: I can't conceive that it would be of any use.

  2. to experience or form (a feeling): to conceive a great love for music.

  3. to express, as in words.

  4. to become pregnant with.

  5. to beget.

  6. to begin, originate, or found (something) in a particular way (usually used in the passive): a new nation conceived in liberty.

  7. Archaic. to understand; comprehend.

verb (used without object),con·ceived, con·ceiv·ing.
  1. to form an idea; think (usually followed by of).

  2. to become pregnant.

Origin of conceive

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English from Anglo-French, Old French conceivre, from Latin concipere “to take fully, take in,” equivalent to con- con- + -cipere, combining form of capere “to take”

synonym study For conceive

2, 10. See imagine.

Other words from conceive

  • con·ceiv·er, noun
  • non·con·ceiv·ing, noun, adjective
  • re·con·ceive, verb, re·con·ceived, re·con·ceiving.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use conceive in a sentence

  • He has to try to reconceive God, and when he has done so, nothing but an unsatisfying abstraction is left.

    The Necessity of Atheism | Dr. D.M. Brooks
  • The broad and simple outlines of English history make it easy to reconceive the past.

    Humanly Speaking | Samuel McChord Crothers
  • It must altogether reconceive its office before it can be of use to literature.

    Literature and Life | William Dean Howells

British Dictionary definitions for conceive

conceive

/ (kənˈsiːv) /


verb
  1. (when intr, foll by of; when tr, often takes a clause as object) to have an idea (of); imagine; think

  2. (tr; takes a clause as object or an infinitive) to hold as an opinion; believe

  1. (tr) to develop or form, esp in the mind: she conceived a passion for music

  2. to become pregnant with (young)

  3. (tr) rare to express in words

Origin of conceive

1
C13: from Old French conceivre, from Latin concipere to take in, from capere to take

Derived forms of conceive

  • conceiver, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012