idea
Other forms: ideas
When you suddenly know what to do and a cartoon light bulb appears above your head, you've probably just had an idea. After burning the roast and dropping the mashed potatoes, ordering pizza seemed like your best idea all night.
Idea goes all the way back to idein in Greek, meaning “to see.” When someone says “Picture this!” they want to give you an idea. When you try to imagine something, idea can also mean a rough outline or a general sense: "This drawing I've made doesn't show every detail of my time machine, but it will give you some idea of how it works."
Definitions of idea
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the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about“it was not a good idea”
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synonyms:
thought
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types:
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inspiration
arousal of the mind to special unusual activity or creativity
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cogitation
a carefully considered thought about something
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concept, conception, construct
an abstract or general idea inferred or derived from specific instances
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preoccupation
an idea that preoccupies the mind and holds the attention
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misconception
an incorrect conception
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plan, program, programme
a series of steps to be carried out or goals to be accomplished
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figment
a contrived or fantastic idea
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generalisation, generality, generalization
an idea or conclusion having general application
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suggestion
an idea that is suggested
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belief, feeling, impression, notion, opinion
a vague idea in which some confidence is placed
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reaction
an idea evoked by some experience
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theorem
an idea accepted as a demonstrable truth
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notion, whim, whimsey, whimsy
an odd or fanciful or capricious idea
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meaning, substance
the idea that is intended
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burden
the central idea that is expanded in a document or discourse
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motif, theme
a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in literary or artistic work
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ideal
the idea of something that is perfect; something that one hopes to attain
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idealisation, idealization
something that exists only as an idea
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keynote
a fundamental or central idea
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kink
an eccentric idea
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fixation, obsession
an unhealthy and compulsive preoccupation with something or someone
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hang-up
an emotional preoccupation
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hobbyhorse
a topic to which one constantly reverts
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germ, seed, source
anything that provides inspiration for later work
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mother
a condition that is the inspiration for an activity or situation
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afflatus
a strong creative impulse; divine inspiration
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conceptualisation, conceptuality, conceptualization
an elaborated concept
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notion
a general inclusive concept
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self-absorption
preoccupation with yourself to the exclusion of everything else
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category
a general concept that marks divisions or coordinations in a conceptual scheme
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regulation, rule
a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior
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attribute, dimension, property
a construct whereby objects or individuals can be distinguished
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abstract, abstraction
a concept or idea not associated with any specific instance
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quantity
the concept that something has a magnitude and can be represented in mathematical expressions by a constant or a variable
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division, part, section
one of the portions into which something is regarded as divided and which together constitute a whole
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whole
all of something including all its component elements or parts
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law, natural law
a rule or body of rules of conduct inherent in human nature and essential to or binding upon human society
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law, law of nature
a generalization that describes recurring facts or events in nature
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lexicalized concept
a concept that is expressed by a word (in some particular language)
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hypothesis, possibility, theory
a tentative insight into the natural world; a concept that is not yet verified but that if true would explain certain facts or phenomena
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fact
a concept whose truth can be proved
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audit program, audit programme
a listing of audit procedures to be performed in completing an audit
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outline, schema, scheme
a schematic or preliminary plan
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fallacy, false belief
a misconception resulting from incorrect reasoning
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erroneous belief, error
a misconception resulting from incorrect information
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self-deceit, self-deception
a misconception that is favorable to the person who holds it
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misapprehension, mistake, misunderstanding
an understanding of something that is not correct
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fancy, fantasy, illusion, phantasy
something many people believe that is false
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delusion, hallucination
a mistaken or unfounded opinion or idea
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master plan
a long-term outline of a project or government function
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blueprint, design, pattern
something intended as a guide for making something else
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plan of action
a plan for actively doing something
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regime, regimen
(medicine) a systematic plan for therapy (often including diet)
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project, projection
a planned undertaking
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agenda, docket, schedule
a temporally organized plan for matters to be attended to
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pension account, pension plan, retirement account, retirement plan, retirement program, retirement savings account, retirement savings plan
a plan for setting aside money to be spent after retirement
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employee savings plan
a plan that allows employees to contribute to an investment pool managed the employer
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guideline, road map
a detailed plan or explanation to guide you in setting standards or determining a course of action
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stock purchase plan
an organized plan for employees of a company to buy shares of its stock
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principle, rule, tenet
a basic generalization that is accepted as true and that can be used as a basis for reasoning or conduct
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glimmer, glimmering, inkling, intimation
a slight suggestion or vague understanding
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posthypnotic suggestion
a suggestion that is made to a person who is hypnotized that specifies an action he will perform (usually in response to a cue) after he has awakened
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presence
the impression that something is present
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effect
an impression (especially one that is artificial or contrived)
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first blush
at the first glimpse or impression
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Bayes' theorem
(statistics) a theorem describing how the conditional probability of a set of possible causes for a given observed event can be computed from knowledge of the probability of each cause and the conditional probability of the outcome of each cause
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hunch, intuition, suspicion
an impression that something might be the case
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topos
a traditional theme or motif or literary convention
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semantics
the meaning of a word, phrase, sentence, or text
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implication, import, significance, subtext
a meaning that is not expressly stated but can be inferred
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strain, tenor
the general meaning or substance of an utterance
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undercurrent, undertone
a subdued emotional quality underlying an utterance; implicit meaning
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denotation, extension, reference
the most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression; the class of objects that an expression refers to
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reference
the relation between a word or phrase and the object or idea it refers to
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connotation
an idea that is implied or suggested
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value
an ideal accepted by some individual or group
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beau ideal, idol, paragon, perfection
an ideal instance; a perfect embodiment of a concept
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criterion, standard
the ideal in terms of which something can be judged
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example, exemplar, good example, model
something to be imitated
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ego ideal
(psychoanalysis) the part of the ego that contains an ideal of personal excellence toward which a person strives
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mirage
something illusory and unattainable
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unsoundness
a misconception that is fallacious and not true or valid
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linguistic rule, rule
(linguistics) a rule describing (or prescribing) a linguistic practice
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budget
a summary of intended expenditures along with proposals for how to meet them
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type of:
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cognitive content, content, mental object
the sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered, or learned
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a personal view
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your intention; what you intend to do
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an approximate calculation of quantity or degree or worth“a rough idea how long it would take”
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synonyms:
approximation, estimate, estimation
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types:
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scalage
estimation of the amount of lumber in a log
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credit, credit rating
an estimate, based on previous dealings, of a person's or an organization's ability to fulfill their financial commitments
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dead reckoning, guess, guessing, guesswork, shot
an estimate based on little or no information
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guesstimate, guestimate
an estimate that combines reasoning with guessing
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overestimate, overestimation, overrating, overreckoning
a calculation that results in an estimate that is too high
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underestimate, underestimation, underrating, underreckoning
an estimation that is too low; an estimate that is less than the true or actual value
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type of:
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calculation, computation, figuring, reckoning
problem solving that involves numbers or quantities
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(music) melodic subject of a musical composition“the accompanist picked up the idea and elaborated it”
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synonyms:
melodic theme, musical theme, theme
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types:
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motif, motive
a theme that is repeated or elaborated in a piece of music
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statement
(music) the presentation of a musical theme
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variation
a repetition of a musical theme in which it is modified or embellished
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obbligato, obligato
a persistent but subordinate motif
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inversion
(counterpoint) a variation of a melody or part in which ascending intervals are replaced by descending intervals and vice versa
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augmentation
the statement of a theme in notes of greater duration (usually twice the length of the original)
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diminution
the statement of a theme in notes of lesser duration (usually half the length of the original)
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partita
one of the variations contained in a partita
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type of:
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air, line, melodic line, melodic phrase, melody, strain, tune
a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence
Pronunciation
US
/aɪˈdiə/
UK
/aɪˈdɪə/
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘idea'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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