SKIP TO CONTENT

conceive

conceived; conceiving; conceives

To conceive is to come up with an idea. If you conceive a plan for your little brother's birthday, you dream up the perfect party, complete with a magician, rented ponies, and a cake shaped like a rocket.

Latin roots for conceive (by way of French) point to "take into" either "the womb" or "the mind." An idea is sometimes called "a seed" or "the seed of an idea," and conceive means to produce something from inside the mind — or to become pregnant. Another expression is "pregnant with ideas" or "pregnant with possibilities," and someone who can "conceive of a thousand ways" to solve a problem or design something is full of new ideas.

Definitions of conceive
  1. verb
    have the idea for
    “He conceived of a robot that would help paralyzed patients”
    “This library was well conceived
    synonyms: conceptualise, conceptualize, gestate
    see moresee less
    types:
    design
    conceive or fashion in the mind; invent
    preconceive
    conceive beforehand
    discover, find
    make a discovery, make a new finding
    type of:
    create by mental act, create mentally
    create mentally and abstractly rather than with one's hands
  2. verb
    judge or regard; look upon; judge
    “The racist conceives such people to be inferior”
    synonyms: believe, consider, think
    see moresee less
    types:
    show 28 types...
    hide 28 types...
    hold
    remain committed to
    rethink
    change one's mind
    think
    dispose the mind in a certain way
    esteem, look on, look upon, perceive, regard as, repute, take to be, think of
    look on as or consider
    feel
    have a feeling or perception about oneself in reaction to someone's behavior or attitude
    consider, reckon, regard, see, view
    deem to be
    expect
    consider reasonable or due
    receive
    regard favorably or with disapproval
    reconsider
    consider again; give new consideration to; usually with a view to changing
    reconsider
    consider again (a bill) that had been voted upon before, with a view to altering it
    include
    consider as part of something
    backpedal
    modify one's opinion, make it less strong
    about-face
    change one's mind and assume the opposite viewpoint
    consider
    regard or treat with consideration, respect, and esteem
    call
    consider or regard as being
    like
    feel about or towards; consider, evaluate, or regard
    relativise, relativize
    consider or treat as relative
    identify
    consider (oneself) as similar to somebody else
    favor, favour
    consider as the favorite
    abstract
    consider a concept without thinking of a specific example; consider abstractly or theoretically
    reify
    consider an abstract concept to be real
    idealise, idealize
    consider or render as ideal
    deem, hold, take for, view as
    keep in mind or convey as a conviction or view
    esteem, prise, prize, respect, value
    regard highly; think much of
    disesteem, disrespect
    have little or no respect for; hold in contempt
    make
    consider as being
    capitalise, capitalize
    consider expenditures as capital assets rather than expenses
    appreciate, prize, treasure, value
    hold dear
    type of:
    evaluate, judge, pass judgment
    form a critical opinion of
  3. verb
    become pregnant; undergo conception
    “She cannot conceive
    see moresee less
    types:
    superfetate
    conceive when a fetus is already present in the uterus
    type of:
    change state, turn
    undergo a transformation or a change of position or action
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘conceive'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
Word Family
EDITOR'S CHOICE

Look up conceive for the last time

Close your vocabulary gaps with personalized learning that focuses on teaching the words you need to know.

VocabTrainer - Vocabulary.com's Vocabulary Trainer