Imagining

How to spell imagining

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce imagining

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does imagining mean?

1. verbIn the act of forming a picture or idea of something in the mind.

Imagining in a sentence

• She spent the flight imagining what her new flat would look like.

• He kept imagining the worst outcome before the interview.

Where does imagining come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is the present participle of 'imagine', which English took in the late 1300s from the Old French 'imaginer'. That in turn rests on the Latin verb 'imaginari', meaning to picture something to oneself or to form a mental image. The root of all of these is the Latin noun 'imago', meaning an image, likeness, or copy, the very same root that gives us 'image' and 'imagination'. Knowing that 'imago' lies underneath helps with the spelling: the core is 'imag', and only one 'g' is needed before the soft 'i'. The sense has stayed remarkably stable for centuries, always pointing to the act of forming pictures or ideas in the mind.

How the word is built

• imag- (from Latin imago: image, likeness)
• -ine (verb-forming)
• -ing (present participle/gerund)