conceive
to form (a notion, opinion, purpose, etc.): He conceived the project while he was on vacation.
to form a notion or idea of; imagine.
to experience or form (a feeling): to conceive a great love for music.
to express, as in words.
to become pregnant with.
to beget.
to begin, originate, or found (something) in a particular way (usually used in the passive): a new nation conceived in liberty.
Archaic. to understand; comprehend.
to form an idea; think (usually followed by of).
to become pregnant.
Origin of conceive
1synonym study For conceive
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. BrooksThe broad and simple outlines of English history make it easy to reconceive the past.
Humanly Speaking | Samuel McChord CrothersIt must altogether reconceive its office before it can be of use to literature.
Literature and Life | William Dean Howells
British Dictionary definitions for conceive
/ (kənˈsiːv) /
(when intr, foll by of; when tr, often takes a clause as object) to have an idea (of); imagine; think
(tr; takes a clause as object or an infinitive) to hold as an opinion; believe
(tr) to develop or form, esp in the mind: she conceived a passion for music
to become pregnant with (young)
(tr) rare to express in words
Origin of conceive
1Derived 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
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