imaginei‧ma‧gine /ɪˈmædʒɪn/ ●●● S1 W2 verb [transitive] 
Imagine that you have just won a million pounds. Imagine life without hot water.imagine what/how/why etc Can you imagine what it’s like when it’s really hot out here in Delhi?imagine somebody doing something She could imagine dark-robed figures moving silently along the stone corridors.(just) imagine doing something Imagine doing a horrible job like that! Just imagine going all that way for nothing!imagine somebody/something as something He didn’t quite dare to imagine himself as a real artist.imagine somebody in/with/without etc something Somehow, I can’t imagine him without a beard.it’s difficult/easy/possible/impossible etc to imagine something After such a dry summer, it’s difficult to imagine what rain looks like.GRAMMARImagine is followed by an -ing form, not an infinitive. You say: · I can’t imagine living without music. ✗Don’t say: I can’t imagine to live without music.Grammar guide ‒ VERBS2to have a false or wrong idea about something: Perhaps she’d never really been there at all – perhaps she’d just imagined it. imagined dangersimagine (that) She had imagined that the doctor would be male. I was surprised when I saw the farm. I had imagined it would be much bigger.imagine something/somebody to be something There’s nobody here. You’re just imagining things.3[not in progressive] to think that something is true or may happen, but without being sure or having proof: ‘A very complicated subject, I imagine,’ said Edwin.imagine (that) You are obviously tired and I imagine that nothing would make you admit it.4you can/can’t imagine something British English spoken used to emphasize how good, bad etc something isYou can/can’t imagine how/what/why etc You can imagine how angry I was! You can’t imagine what a terrible week we had.COLLOCATIONSphrasesbe easy to imagine· It’s easy to imagine how the change in the law caused a lot of confusion.be hard/difficult to imagine· It’s hard to imagine the suffering she must have gone through.can easily imagine· I can easily imagine how frightening the accident must have been.can well imagine (=can easily imagine)· I can well imagine how delighted you were with the news.can hardly/scarcely imagine (=find it difficult to imagine)· He could scarcely imagine what living in such poor conditions must have been like.can’t/couldn’t imagine· He couldn’t imagine life without his wife.what somebody had imagined (=what someone thought something would be like, before they saw it or experienced it)· The office was not what he had imagined.be bigger/smaller/worse etc than you had imagined· The job interview proved to be much worse than I had imagined it would be.let us imagine … (=used to encourage someone else to think about a possibility)· Let us imagine that you are an employer who wants to recruit some new staff.somebody is imagining things (=someone has a false or wrong idea about something)· She’s imagining things if she thinks she has a chance of winning the prize.adverbsnaively imagine (=to imagine something without realizing how complicated the situation is)· She had naively imagined that marriage would solve all her problems.fondly imagine (=to believe something that is untrue)· He had fondly imagined that she was in love with him.THESAURUSimagine to form a picture or idea in your mind about what something might be like: · When I think of Honolulu, I imagine long white beaches and palm trees.· I can’t really imagine being a millionaire.visualize to form a picture of someone or something in your mind, especially something that is definitely going to happen or exist in the future: · Anna visualized meeting Greg again at the airport.· The finished house may be hard to visualize.picture to form a clear picture of something or someone in your mind: · I can still picture my father, even though he died a long time ago.· The town was just how she had pictured it from his description.envisage /ɪnˈvɪzɪdʒ/ especially British English, envision to imagine something as possible or likely to happen in the future: · How do you envisage your career developing over the next ten years?· They had envisioned the creation of a single armed force, small but efficient.conceive of something formal to imagine a situation, especially one that is difficult to imagine: · For many people, music is so important that they cannot conceive of life without it.fantasize to imagine something exciting that you would like to happen, but that is very unlikely to happen: · I used to fantasize about becoming a film star.daydream to imagine pleasant things, so that you forget where you are and what you should be doing: · Mark began to daydream, and didn’t even hear the teacher’s question.hallucinate to imagine that you are seeing things that are not really there, especially because you are ill or have taken drugs: · The drug can cause some people to hallucinate.· When I saw the walls moving, I thought I must be hallucinating.
WORD ORIGINimagine
Origin:
1300-1400 French imaginer, from Latin imaginari, from imago; ➔ IMAGEVERB TABLE
imagine
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | imagine |
| he, she, it | imagines | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | imagined |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have imagined |
| he, she, it | has imagined | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had imagined |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will imagine |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have imagined |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am imagining |
| he, she, it | is imagining | |
| you, we, they | are imagining | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was imagining |
| you, we, they | were imagining | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been imagining |
| he, she, it | has been imagining | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been imagining |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be imagining |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been imagining |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- ""I'm sure I saw Brian in the park today.'' ""No, you must be imagining things. Brian hasn't lived here for nearly fifteen years.''
- For a while she imagined that she was a rich woman, living in a beautiful house.
- From the description Janet gave in her letter it was easy to imagine what her new apartment was like.
- I can't imagine anyone wearing clothes that colour.
- I can quite easily imagine you running your own business.
- Just imagine having to spend the rest of your life in jail.
- Mary was always imagining that people were talking about her behind her back.
- The lake is much prettier than I had imagined.
- Try to imagine a room as big as a football field.
- When I was a child I would lie awake imagining that there were monsters in the dark corners of my room.
- But then you can't imagine that, can you?
- In an effort to restrain himself, he tried to imagine things in the worst possible light.
- It is impossible to imagine a Cheyenne war party coming out of the canyon, because the canyon is gone.
- It was hard to imagine how the system could be improved or made more convenient.
- Manson offers EMGs as an alternative, but I can't imagine anyone objecting to the sound of the Seymours.
- Now imagine 5 billion people, the entire population of Earth, each setting off a 24ton explosion at the same time.
- She had never suffered from claustrophobia, but right now she could imagine just how its victims felt.
- Surely she'd imagined it; the light wasn't very good, and Jean knew that shadows could be misleading.
THESAURUS
to form a picture or idea in your mind about what something might be like: · When I think of Honolulu, I imagine long white beaches and palm trees.· I can’t really imagine being a millionaire.
to form a picture of someone or something in your mind, especially something that is definitely going to happen or exist in the future: · Anna visualized meeting Greg again at the airport.· The finished house may be hard to visualize.
to form a clear picture of something or someone in your mind: · I can still picture my father, even though he died a long time ago.· The town was just how she had pictured it from his description.
especially British English, envision to imagine something as possible or likely to happen in the future: · How do you envisage your career developing over the next ten years?· They had envisioned the creation of a single armed force, small but efficient.
formal to imagine a situation, especially one that is difficult to imagine: · For many people, music is so important that they cannot conceive of life without it.
to imagine something exciting that you would like to happen, but that is very unlikely to happen: · I used to fantasize about becoming a film star.
to imagine pleasant things, so that you forget where you are and what you should be doing: · Mark began to daydream, and didn’t even hear the teacher’s question.
to imagine that you are seeing things that are not really there, especially because you are ill or have taken drugs: · The drug can cause some people to hallucinate.· When I saw the walls moving, I thought I must be hallucinating.
Longman Language Activatorto have a picture or idea of something in your mind to think about something and form a picture or idea in your mind about it: · Try to imagine a room as big as a football field.imagine (that): · For a while she imagined that she was a rich woman, living in a beautiful house.imagine what/who/where: · From the description Janet gave in her letter it was easy to imagine what her new apartment was like.imagine doing something: · Just imagine having to spend the rest of your life in jail.imagine somebody doing something: · I can quite easily imagine you running your own business.can't imagine somebody doing something: · I can't imagine anyone wearing clothes that colour.
also visualise British to form a very clear picture of something or someone in your mind, especially in order to help you prepare to do something or help you to remember something clearly: · An architect can look at a drawing and visualize a three-dimensional shape.· David could still visualize Polly, even though he had not seen her for ten years.visualize where/what/how: · He closed his eyes, trying to visualize where he had put his watch.
to have a clear picture of something or someone in your mind, especially because you are trying to imagine what it is like to do something or what someone looks like: · Can you picture it? Lying in the sun, sipping cocktails -- it would be paradise!picture something/somebody as: · I had never met Graham but I pictured him as a pale, thin young man wearing glasses.picture somebody doing something: · Miguel could still picture the children laughing and joking, and chasing each other around the garden.
to have a clear picture of something you are thinking about in your mind, especially something pleasant or funny, or something you think is likely to happen: · I'm going to Corfu next week. I can see it all now -- sun, sand and sea!can see somebody doing something: · Jimmy's gone skiing for the first time. I can just see him coming home with a broken leg.
to form an idea of something in your mind, using the information you have about it: · The Hubble Space Telescope allows astronomers to form a more accurate picture of our solar system.
formal to imagine something happening or what a particular situation is like - use this especially in questions and negative statements: · It is difficult to conceive of a society in which nobody has to work.cannot conceive of something: · I don't know about you, but I cannot conceive of a home without electricity or water.
to imagine something you want to do or want to happen also fantasise British to think about something that you would like to do or that you would like to happen, especially when it is very unlikely that you will do it or that it will happen: fantasize about doing something: · I often fantasize about living in a big house with tennis courts and a swimming pool.· Many men fantasize about sleeping with someone who is not their partner.
to spend a short time imagining something pleasant, so that you forget where you are and what you are doing, especially when you are bored: · Mark had begun to daydream, and didn't even hear the teacher's question.daydream about/of: · Carol sat at her desk, daydreaming about meeting Mel Gibson.· When Charles tapped me on the shoulder I was daydreaming of golden beaches and palm trees.
to imagine something pleasant that you would like to do or to happen, especially if it is possible that it might happen: dream of/about: · When I was at college I dreamed of becoming a great novelist.· Going abroad for a holiday was something our grandparents could only dream about.dream (that): · Maura had never dreamt that she could feel like this.
to wrongly think that something is happening to wrongly think that you can see or hear something when it is not really happening: imagine (that): · When I was a child I would lie awake imagining that there were monsters in the dark corners of my room.· Mary was always imagining that people were talking about her behind her back.I/you/he etc must be imagining things: · "I'm sure I saw Brian in the park today.'' "No, you must be imagining things. Brian hasn't lived here for nearly fifteen years.''
especially spoken say this when you or someone else has imagined something that cannot be real: I/you/he etc must be seeing things: · "Did that man just wave at me?'' "Of course not, you must be seeing things.''
if something is in the mind or in your mind , you are imagining it and it does not really exist: all in the mind: · I don't think Martin is really ill -- it's all in the mind.all in your mind: · No-one is trying to kill you. It's all in your mind.
if someone who is ill or has taken drugs hallucinates , they believe that they can see things that are not really there: · After two days without food and water, Voss began to hallucinate.
something that does not really exist and that you were just imagining: · Sceptics will tell you that there is no such thing as reincarnation and that living a previous life is a figment of the subject's imagination.
something that you imagine not real, but existing only as a picture or idea in your mind: · When Linda was a child she had an imaginary friend called Booboo.· He pointed an imaginary gun at me and pretended to shoot.· Frankie was the kind of guy who lived in an imaginary world all of his own.
an exciting or enjoyable experience that you imagine happening to you, but which will probably never happen: · Everyone's fantasy is that one day they will win the National Lottery.live in a fantasy world (=to always be having fantasies): · My son seems to live in a fantasy world sometimes.
pleasant thoughts you have about something you would like to do, that make you forget where you are and what you are doing: · I began to have daydreams about us being married.· She was sitting at the back of the class, lost in a daydream.
something you see that does not really exist, especially something that you see because you are ill or have taken drugs: · I knew that what I had seen was a hallucination, but it was so real and frightening.have hallucinations: · Jamie lost two and a half stone in the next fortnight, couldn't eat and had hallucinations.
an image, especially a religious image, that you can see but which other people cannot: · Bernadette had a vision in which the Virgin Mary appeared before her.
your ability to imagine things · Reading is a good way to develop a child's imagination at an early age.· There's no-one knocking at the door - it must have been your imagination.use your imagination · I don't have a photograph with me so you'll have to use your imagination.vivid imagination (=very strong imagination) · Jack's vivid imagination often gave him bad dreams.fertile imagination (=having a lot of original ideas) · Shakespeare has the most fertile imagination of all the poets.
what you say when you think something is true, but you are not sure spoken · She'll be here about 9, I think.I think (that) · I think the dog must have eaten it.I think so · "Is Matthew still here?" "I think so -- I've just seen him."I would think so · "Will Jenny be at the meeting?" "I would think so."
spoken say this when you think that something is probably true but you are not really sure: · Having a burglar alarm makes you feel safer, I suppose.I suppose (that): · I suppose we can pay by credit card but we'd better check first.I suppose so (=say this to answer a question): · "Will the children be disappointed?" "Yes, I suppose so."
especially American, spoken say this when you think that something is probably true but you are not really sure: · Rob just got tired of living with her, I guess.I guess (that): · I guess this is the best way to do it.I guess so: · "Is the truck safe to drive now?" "I guess so."
to start to think something is a fact because of various things that happen, because of the way someone is behaving etc: get the impression/feeling/idea (that): · I got the impression she was actually quite nervous about it.· Walking down the main street, you get the feeling that nothing ever happens in this town.· I don't want you to get the idea that I don't like him.get this/that idea: · "He thinks you're angry with them." "Where on earth did he get that idea?"
spoken say this when you think that something is true, although you realize that you may not know all the facts: · As far as I know, Caroline's never been married.· Alaska doesn't have any drilling sites off the coast, as far as I know.
spoken say this when you think that something is likely to be true, although what you say is only based on your opinion: I imagine (that): · I imagine she's stuck in a traffic jam or something.I would imagine (that): · I would imagine that Libby could help you - she knows a lot about legal things.
spoken say this when you want to make it clear that there may be things you do not know about a situation: · As far as I am aware, Mr Cusner and his family are still living in Cleveland, Ohio.
formal spoken say this when you want to make it clear that you are not completely sure about the statement you are making: · To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time that anyone has translated these poems into English.
spoken say this when you think that something is true and you are asking someone else to tell you that you are right: I take it (that): · I take it that you're Rob's sister?· So can we take it that you'll be at the meeting?· You've made plans for the future, I take it?
to not understand · They didn't understand a single word she said.· Tell me if you don't understand.· She thought about getting a divorce, but she knew her children would never understand.· He made a few references to the CIA and national security, which Wilson did not understand.not understand why/how/what/where · I really can't understand why so many people like her music.
also can't makes heads or tails (out) of American informal to be unable to understand something at all because it is very complicated or confusing: · I just can't make head or tail of this train timetable.· I couldn't make head or tail of this book, and had real trouble finishing it.· Consumers can't always make heads or tails out of the way nutrition is labeled on a food package.
to be much too complicated or technical for someone to understand: · It was obvious from her expression that what I was saying was over her head.be way/completely over somebody's head: · I went to the lecture, but it was way over my head.
to be involved in a situation or activity which is too difficult for you to understand: · She was out of her depth in the advanced class, so they moved her to the intermediate class.be way/completely out of your depth: · I tried to read the report, but I was way out of my depth.
to still not understand something after someone has tried to explain it to you: · I've read the manual but I'm still none the wiser.leave somebody none the wiser: · His explanations of how it worked left me none the wiser.
spoken to not understand the reason for something: don't/can't see why/how/what/where: · I didn't see how they could sell it so cheaply.· I can't see why you think it's any of your business.
spoken say this when you cannot understand why something happens or how someone does something, and you find it very surprising: be a mystery to me/be beyond me/beats me how/what/why etc: · It's a mystery to me how he can get so much work done in such a short time.· Why anyone would willingly do that job is beyond me.it beats me/it's beyond me etc.: · "Why does she stay with her husband then?" "It beats me."
you say I can't think or I can't imagine how or why someone does something when you cannot think of any reasonable explanation why someone should do it, and are very surprised that they do: I can't think/can't imagine why/how etc: · He wants to join the army -- I can't think why.· How such a stupid man ever got to be a politician, I just can't imagine.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRYphrases It was hard to see what else we could have done. It’s hard to believe that anyone would say something like that.
· It’s easy to imagine how the change in the law caused a lot of confusion.
· It’s hard to imagine the suffering she must have gone through.
· I can easily imagine how frightening the accident must have been.
(=can easily imagine)· I can well imagine how delighted you were with the news.
(=find it difficult to imagine)· He could scarcely imagine what living in such poor conditions must have been like.
· He couldn’t imagine life without his wife.
(=what someone thought something would be like, before they saw it or experienced it)· The office was not what he had imagined.
· The job interview proved to be much worse than I had imagined it would be.
(=used to encourage someone else to think about a possibility)· Let us imagine that you are an employer who wants to recruit some new staff.
(=someone has a false or wrong idea about something)· She’s imagining things if she thinks she has a chance of winning the prize.
adverbs (=to imagine something without realizing how complicated the situation is)· She had naively imagined that marriage would solve all her problems.
(=to believe something that is untrue)· He had fondly imagined that she was in love with him.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES It was hard to see what else we could have done. It’s hard to believe that anyone would say something like that.· It is difficult to imagine a scenario in which the company will give this information freely.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· I said I always imagined the pattern starting at the N1 cam and spreading out to the point cams.· He had always imagined that the key to good detective work was a close observation of details.· It was precisely the sort of place where she had always imagined he would live.· His hero is Jefferson, but the reporters always imagined that George Gallup ran a close second.· It was exactly as I had always imagined the Dark Ages to be, and in its terrible way it was apt.· I had always imagined holding her through labor, talking with her and somehow sharing in the pain.· Until then she had always imagined him to be somehow insubstantial, a shadow of a man.· I had always imagined I would find this true.
· It had been perfect, so much more than she had ever imagined this act could be.· The picture is far more complicated than Blue ever imagined.· Nowhere in her wildest nightmares had she ever imagined anything like this!· I was tougher and stronger than I ever imagined I could be, and I owed that to the Army.· He had been everything she had ever imagined the man she loved would be.· I would tell them that they could attain levels of quality and customer satisfaction greater than they had ever imagined.· Nor did anyone ever imagine that such an attack could be made from the sea.· For Arthur, this is the end of every happiness he ever imagined.
· Liz was asked to imagine how she would respond if she was faced with the same problems again.· It is not hard to imagine how she felt.· She couldn't imagine how she had allowed it to happen when everything within her head warned against it.· To imagine how such a child might feel, picture yourself on a hot, lazy summer afternoon.· Can you imagine how I felt?· How could she have possibly imagined how dramatically her feelings towards him would have changed in so short a time?· It is best not to build it at all but to imagine how it would work.
· Or am I just imagining all this, Ludens sometimes wondered.· I can just imagine what he was saying privately about Johnson en route.· Perhaps I just imagined hearing her moaning a little in the night, and shaking splinters of glass out of her long grey hair.· Once that is accomplished, just imagine how far the two companies can carry this marvelous idea.· He could just imagine the Woman hitting him, smashing at his face in the dark with the butt of her gun.· Just imagine the hippocampus playing back a partial spatiotemporal pattern to the cortex-maybe a fragment of something from the previous week.· I can't tell you how sorry I am, so you must just imagine it.· Or was I just imagining that?
· We had never imagined we would put them to their intended use.· Our relationship started as best friends, and we never imagined that should change.· He was not to know that those pictures appalled her, that she had never imagined herself capable of such thoughts.· But he never imagined how many people hungered for homes close to central Phoenix.· I never imagined it would leave room for feelings of resentment and indifference.· Why had she never imagined Bella as a redhead?· Yet this moment of truth became life-changing, maturing, character-forming in a way Isaiah could never imagine.
· She had not been able to imagine why she should be suffering those anxiety attacks for so long.· In hindsight, it is hard to imagine why Xerox chose not to exploit the Alto commercially.· I tried to imagine why he lived such a quiet and lonely life in this far-off place.· Not one of his friends had known him, + he couldn't imagine why.· It was so obvious I couldn't imagine why I hadn't seen it before.· She couldn't imagine why she had behaved as she had.· This seemed to me so true that I couldn't imagine why it was not universally acknowledged.· He was angry with her, but she couldn't imagine why.
VERB· The ache in her head got worse and she began to imagine a pain under her breastbone.· I could not begin to imagine what my father would make of him.· Towards the end of his shift he began to imagine things.· I began to imagine throwing punches at the Bashers.· I began to imagine that Pyke would understand everything I said.· The person begins by imagining her or himself bathed in white light.· If you really do not know where you were or what you were doing, begin by imagining the object itself.· People immediately began imagining all the dumbest applications to which the miracle of cloning might lead.
· Thith lot only wear it in the evening, can you imagine that?· He was straight from high school, can you imagine?· Nor can researchers imagine anyone walk-ing down into the earth through the mouth of a volcano as Verne proposed several centuries later.· But it keeps escaping me, like the flea I picked off Violet this morning. Can you imagine?
· Example: the timing of music Let us imagine that a school is planning a music curriculum programme.· So let us imagine ourselves standing on this shore; let us say, on Manhattan Island.· But to see how false this justification, let us play the equality card. Let us imagine boxing without the masculinity.· Let us imagine boxing without the masculinity. Let us imagine two ladies slugging hell out of one another in a ring.· It's like a form of vagueness that lets you imagine things, only you hear it.· What can be wrong with this? Let us imagine ourselves as a reader of Penthouse in order to answer this question.
· The moment passed, and he tried to imagine what she was going through, how it felt to her.· I tried to imagine the progress of his life: had it been chaotic or orderly?· With empathy, we try to imagine what it is like being the other person and experiencing things as he does.· He tried to imagine what happened to him after that, but those thoughts just confused him, so he gave up.· She tried to imagine what Adam would expect her to do, how he would want her to handle herself.· While I finish the applesauce and clean up the kitchen I try to imagine how this cabin must appear to Ethan Groate.· While waiting I tried to imagine what she might have been thinking.· Quinn tried to imagine him lying in his bed, sweating out a fever.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► can’t begin to understand/imagine etc
- Some people fondly believe that chess-playing computers work by internally trying out all possible combinations of chess moves.
- Some Tories fondly imagine that privatisation will eliminate the need to subsidise the railways.
- The Gombe rainforest is not the sort of Eden we might fondly imagine.
- Anyway, I just thought I'd write to suggest that we meet up at some point.
- I just think an organization like this should be hearing how the board thinks.
- I just thought something that was see through maybe on that wall would.
- I get a headache just looking at a cookbook.
- I promised myself I was just looking.
- I will spend that day in a field of black smokers, just looking.
- Similarly, you should not just look at the eyes or ears when there may be a problem here.
- We just thought - obviously very stupidly - that you might be working on something together.
- He said there might be one way, you know, I should think about it.
- I wouldn't mind. I should think he'd be very demanding.
- Interesting, I should think, with a name like Hamish.
- Look at my dad. I should think he's got half his lunch down his.
- Looking forward to getting back to your farm, I should think?
- Not for far, I should think - not if its nose has gone.
- Rather like seizure, I should imagine.
- And that, I would say, is what we, in our own religious rites, had best be doing too.
- Dominic remains, I would say, a preposterously beautiful creature.
- Elizabeth: I would say about 185 pounds.
- Is there a chance Chrysler might buy Fiat? I would think there's essentially zero chance of that happening.
- Perhaps it is more a matter for philosophers than scientists, but I would say not.
- Pretty heavily on fire, too, I would think.
- That is a prime question, I would say, of this hour in the bringing up of children.
- This looks tough, I would think, and then immediately forget about it.
WORD FAMILYadjectiveimaginable ≠ unimaginableimaginaryimaginative ≠ unimaginativeunimaginednounimaginationimaginingsadverbunimaginablyimaginativelyverbimagine
1to form a picture or idea in your mind about what something could be likeimagine (that) Imagine that you have just won a million pounds. Imagine life without hot water.imagine what/how/why etc Can you imagine what it’s like when it’s really hot out here in Delhi?imagine somebody doing something She could imagine dark-robed figures moving silently along the stone corridors.(just) imagine doing something Imagine doing a horrible job like that! Just imagine going all that way for nothing!imagine somebody/something as something He didn’t quite dare to imagine himself as a real artist.imagine somebody in/with/without etc something Somehow, I can’t imagine him without a beard.it’s difficult/easy/possible/impossible etc to imagine something After such a dry summer, it’s difficult to imagine what rain looks like.GRAMMARImagine is followed by an -ing form, not an infinitive. You say: · I can’t imagine living without music. ✗Don’t say: I can’t imagine to live without music.Grammar guide ‒ VERBS2to have a false or wrong idea about something: Perhaps she’d never really been there at all – perhaps she’d just imagined it. imagined dangersimagine (that) She had imagined that the doctor would be male. I was surprised when I saw the farm. I had imagined it would be much bigger.imagine something/somebody to be something There’s nobody here. You’re just imagining things.3[not in progressive] to think that something is true or may happen, but without being sure or having proof: ‘A very complicated subject, I imagine,’ said Edwin.imagine (that) You are obviously tired and I imagine that nothing would make you admit it.4you can/can’t imagine something British English spoken used to emphasize how good, bad etc something isYou can/can’t imagine how/what/why etc You can imagine how angry I was! You can’t imagine what a terrible week we had.COLLOCATIONSphrasesbe easy to imagine· It’s easy to imagine how the change in the law caused a lot of confusion.be hard/difficult to imagine· It’s hard to imagine the suffering she must have gone through.can easily imagine· I can easily imagine how frightening the accident must have been.can well imagine (=can easily imagine)· I can well imagine how delighted you were with the news.can hardly/scarcely imagine (=find it difficult to imagine)· He could scarcely imagine what living in such poor conditions must have been like.can’t/couldn’t imagine· He couldn’t imagine life without his wife.what somebody had imagined (=what someone thought something would be like, before they saw it or experienced it)· The office was not what he had imagined.be bigger/smaller/worse etc than you had imagined· The job interview proved to be much worse than I had imagined it would be.let us imagine … (=used to encourage someone else to think about a possibility)· Let us imagine that you are an employer who wants to recruit some new staff.somebody is imagining things (=someone has a false or wrong idea about something)· She’s imagining things if she thinks she has a chance of winning the prize.adverbsnaively imagine (=to imagine something without realizing how complicated the situation is)· She had naively imagined that marriage would solve all her problems.fondly imagine (=to believe something that is untrue)· He had fondly imagined that she was in love with him.THESAURUSimagine to form a picture or idea in your mind about what something might be like: · When I think of Honolulu, I imagine long white beaches and palm trees.· I can’t really imagine being a millionaire.visualize to form a picture of someone or something in your mind, especially something that is definitely going to happen or exist in the future: · Anna visualized meeting Greg again at the airport.· The finished house may be hard to visualize.picture to form a clear picture of something or someone in your mind: · I can still picture my father, even though he died a long time ago.· The town was just how she had pictured it from his description.envisage /ɪnˈvɪzɪdʒ/ especially British English, envision to imagine something as possible or likely to happen in the future: · How do you envisage your career developing over the next ten years?· They had envisioned the creation of a single armed force, small but efficient.conceive of something formal to imagine a situation, especially one that is difficult to imagine: · For many people, music is so important that they cannot conceive of life without it.fantasize to imagine something exciting that you would like to happen, but that is very unlikely to happen: · I used to fantasize about becoming a film star.daydream to imagine pleasant things, so that you forget where you are and what you should be doing: · Mark began to daydream, and didn’t even hear the teacher’s question.hallucinate to imagine that you are seeing things that are not really there, especially because you are ill or have taken drugs: · The drug can cause some people to hallucinate.· When I saw the walls moving, I thought I must be hallucinating.