image

UK: /ˈɪmɪdʒ/ US: /ˈɪmɪdʒ/ ,(im′ij)

Inflections of 'image' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

images

v 3rd person singular

imaging

v pres p

imaged

v past

imaged

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

im•age /ˈɪmɪdʒ/   n. [countable]

1. a visible representation of a person, animal, or thing:
   an image of dark, dismal high-rises in the distance.
2. Optics an optical appearance of an object, as one produced by reflection from a mirror, etc.:
   The lens takes the image and focuses it on the film.
3. a mental representation;
   idea;
   conception:
   a clear image in the mind.
4. form;
   appearance;
   semblance:
   created in God's image.
5. copy:
   That child is the image of his mother.
6. a general opinion of someone or something, as of a candidate, etc., esp. when achieved by advertising:
   The company's image needed improvement.
7. the perfect example or type of something:
   Biting his nails and pulling at his hair, he was the image of worry.
8. Rhetoric a figure of speech used to describe something.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

im•age  (im′ij), n., v., -aged, -ag•ing. 
n. 

1. a physical likeness or representation of a person, animal, or thing, photographed, painted, sculptured, or otherwise made visible.
2. an optical counterpart or appearance of an object, as is produced by reflection from a mirror, refraction by a lens, or the passage of luminous rays through a small aperture and their reception on a surface.
3. a mental representation;
   idea;
   conception.
4. Psychology a mental representation of something previously perceived, in the absence of the original stimulus.
5. form;
   appearance;
   semblance:
   We are all created in God's image.
6. counterpart;
   copy:
   That child is the image of his mother.
7. Philosophy a symbol;
   emblem.
8. the general or public perception of a company, public figure, etc., esp. as achieved by careful calculation aimed at creating widespread goodwill.
9. a type;
   embodiment:
   Red-faced and angry, he was the image of frustration.
10. Rhetoric a description of something in speech or writing:
    Keats created some of the most beautiful images in the language.
11. Rhetoric a figure of speech, esp. a metaphor or a simile.
12. an idol or representation of a deity:
    They knelt down before graven images.
13. Mathematics the point or set of points in the range corresponding to a designated point in the domain of a given function.
14. [Archaic.] an illusion or apparition.

v.t. 

15. to picture or represent in the mind;
    imagine;
    conceive.
16. to make an image of;
    portray in sculpture, painting, etc.
17. Photography to project (photographs, film, etc.) on a surface:
    Familiar scenes were imaged on the screen.
18. to reflect the likeness of;
    mirror.
19. to set forth in speech or writing;
    describe.
20. to symbolize;
    typify.
21. to resemble.
22. [Informal.] to create an image for (a company, public figure, etc.):
    The candidate had to be imaged before being put on the campaign trail.
23. Computing to transform (data) into an exact replica in a different form, as changing digital data to pixels for display on a CRT or representing a medical scan of a body part in digital form.

• Old French imagier, derivative of image
• Latin imāgin-, stem of imāgō a copy, likeness, equivalent. to im- (compare imitate) + -āgō noun, nominal suffix; (verb, verbal) Middle English: to form a mental picture
• Old French image, imagene (-ene apparently construed as suffix)
• (noun, nominal) Middle English 1175–1225

im′age•a•ble, adj. 
im′ag•er, n. 
Synonyms

• 1, 12. Image, icon, idol refer to material representations of persons or things. An image is a representation as in a statue or effigy, and is sometimes regarded as an object of worship:
  to set up an image of Apollo; an image of a saint.
  An icon, in the Greek or Eastern Orthodox Church, is a representation of Christ, an angel, or a saint, in painting, relief, mosaic, or the like:
  At least two icons are found in each church.
  An idol is an image, statue, or the like representing a deity and worshiped as such:
  a wooden idol; The heathen worship idols.
  It may be used figuratively:
  to make an idol of wealth.
• 2. likeness, figure, representation.
• 3. notion.
• 6. facsimile.

Antonyms

• 6. original.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

image / ˈɪmɪdʒ/ noun

1. a representation or likeness of a person or thing, esp in sculpture
2. an optically formed reproduction of an object, such as one formed by a lens or mirror
3. a person or thing that resembles another closely; double or copy
4. a mental representation or picture; idea produced by the imagination
5. the personality presented to the public by a person, organization, etc: a criminal charge is not good for a politician's image
   See also corporate image
6. the pattern of light that is focused on to the retina of the eye
7. the mental experience of something that is not immediately present to the senses, often involving memory
   See also imagery
8. a personification of a specified quality; epitome: the image of good breeding
9. a mental picture or association of ideas evoked in a literary work, esp in poetry
10. a figure of speech, such as a simile or metaphor
11. an obsolete word for apparition

verb (transitive)

1. to picture in the mind; imagine
2. to make or reflect an image of
3. to project or display on a screen or visual display unit
4. to portray or describe
5. to be an example or epitome of; typify

Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French imagene, from Latin imāgō copy, representation; related to Latin imitārī to imitate

ˈimageable adjective

ˈimageless adjective