Definition of ENVISAGED (original) (raw)

: to view or regard in a certain way

envisages the slum as a hotbed of crime

: to have a mental picture of especially in advance of realization

envisages an entirely new system of education

Did you know?

Envisage this: a word is borrowed from French in the mid-17th century and sticks around to be used in the 21st. It’s not hard to picture; envisage is not alone in this accomplishment. Used today to mean “to have a mental picture of something, especially in advance of realization” and “to view or regard something in a certain way,” envisage for a time could also mean “to confront or face someone.” That use, which is now archaic, nods to the word’s origin: we borrowed envisage from French, but the visage part is from Anglo-French vis, meaning “face.” (It reaches back ultimately to Greek idein, “to see.”) Visage is of course also an English word. It entered English much earlier, in the 14th century, and is typically used today in literary contexts to refer to a person’s face. Envisage isn’t necessarily restricted to literary contexts, but it does have a formal tone. Its near twin envision (“to picture to oneself”), which has been with us since the 19th century, is interchangeable with envisage in many contexts and is somewhat less formal.

Synonyms

Choose the Right Synonym for envisage

I just thought of a good joke

conceive suggests the forming and bringing forth and usually developing of an idea, plan, or design.

conceived of a new marketing approach

imagine stresses a visualization.

imagine you're at the beach

fancy suggests an imagining often unrestrained by reality but spurred by desires.

fancied himself a super athlete

realize stresses a grasping of the significance of what is conceived or imagined.

realized the enormity of the task ahead

envisage and envision imply a conceiving or imagining that is especially clear or detailed.

envisaged a totally computerized operation

envisioned a cure for the disease

Examples of envisage in a Sentence

I envisage a day when proper health care will be available to everyone. I'm trying to envisage you on a surfboard.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Between the lines: The emoluments clause of the Constitution, written in 1787, hardly envisaged a world where a president could conjure billions of dollars of wealth out of nowhere just by endorsing a meme. —Felix Salmon, Axios, 19 Jan. 2025 This is a simple proximity data exchange between iPhones, but just for contact cards—envisaged aa s modern–day, touch-free business card update. —Zak Doffman, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024 Ten years on, and with the streaming world continuing to fracture the television landscape, Blackout Thursday and its ilk now seem harder to envisage than ever. —Jon O'Brien, IndieWire, 4 Nov. 2024 It is envisaged that a new chief executive will eventually be a primary communicator with the fans on behalf of the ownership and help make key sporting decisions. —Patrick Boyland, The Athletic, 7 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for envisage