i ‧ ma ‧ gi ‧ na ‧ tion S3 W3 /ɪˌmædʒəˈneɪʃ ə n, ɪˌmædʒɪˈneɪʃ ə n/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ imaginable ≠ ↑ unimaginable , ↑ imaginary , ↑ imaginative ≠ ↑ unimaginative , ↑ unimagined ; noun : ↑ imagination , ↑ imaginings ; adverb : ↑ unimaginably , ↑ imaginatively ; verb : ↑ imagine ]
1 . [uncountable and countable] the ability to form pictures or ideas in your mind:
a storyteller with an incredible imagination
It does not take much imagination to understand their grief.
With a little imagination, you can find great inexpensive gifts.
2 . be (a figment of) sb’s imagination to be something that someone imagines, not something that really exists or happens:
Did you hear that noise, or was it my imagination?
These people do exist; they’re not figments of my imagination.
3 . in sb’s imagination only existing or happening in someone’s mind, not in real life:
For the refugees, home exists only in their imagination.
4 . capture/catch sb’s imagination to make people feel very interested and excited:
American football really captured the imagination of the British public.
5 . leave something to sb’s imagination to deliberately not describe something because you think someone can guess or imagine it:
Mercifully, the writer leaves most of the physical horrors to our imagination.
6 . leave little/nothing to the imagination
a) if someone’s clothes leave little or nothing to the imagination, the clothes are very thin or are worn in a way that shows the person’s body:
Her black satin dress left nothing to the imagination.
b) if something sexual or violent is described in a way that leaves nothing to the imagination, it is described in too much detail
7 . use your imagination spoken used to tell someone that they can easily guess the answer to a question, so you should not need to tell them
⇨ not by any stretch of the imagination at ↑ stretch 2 (4)
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COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ a good imagination
She's a lively child, with a good imagination.
▪ great imagination
His paintings show great imagination.
▪ a vivid/fertile imagination (=an ability to think of a lot of ideas and things that could happen)
She had a fertile imagination and a great sense of humour.
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With your vivid imagination, you should write a book.
▪ an overactive/fevered imagination (=a mind that imagines strange things that are not real)
These stories are the product of an overactive imagination.
▪ the public imagination
The story captured the public imagination.
▪ creative imagination
I don't have the creative imagination to be a writer.
■ verbs
▪ have (an) imagination
Her poems show that she has a lot of imagination.
▪ use your imagination
Musicians need to use their imagination as well as their technical skills.
▪ show/display imagination
His latest paintings display a vivid imagination.
▪ lack imagination
A lot of today's pop music seems to lack imagination.
▪ fire/stimulate somebody's imagination (=make someone use their imagination)
The aim of the exhibition is to stimulate people's imagination.
■ phrases
▪ be full of imagination
Her stories are full of imagination.
▪ a lack of imagination
Their policies show a lack of imagination.
▪ let your imagination run wild ( also let your imagination run riot British English ) (=allow yourself to imagine many strange or wonderful things)
He uses painting as a way of letting his imagination run riot.