imagery

[im-ij-ree, im-i-juh-ree]

noun

plural

imageries 

1. the formation of mental images, figures, or likenesses of things, or of such images collectively.

   the dim imagery of a dream.

2. pictorial images, as in works of art.

3. the use of rhetorical images.

4. figurative description or illustration; rhetorical images collectively.

5. Psychology.,  mental images collectively, especially those produced by the action of imagination.

imagery

/ ˈɪmɪdʒrɪ, -dʒərɪ /

noun

1. figurative or descriptive language in a literary work

2. images collectively

3. psychol

   1. the materials or general processes of the imagination

   2. the characteristic kind of mental images formed by a particular individual See also image imagination

4. military the presentation of objects reproduced photographically (by infrared or electronic means) as prints or electronic displays

imagery

1. The mental pictures created by a piece of writing: “The imagery of “The Waste Land” — crumbling towers, dried-up wells, toppled tombstones — conveys the author's sense of a civilization in decay.”

Other Word Forms

• imagerial adjective
• imagerially adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of imagery¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English imagerie, from Old French, equivalent to image + -ery

Example Sentences

Satellite imagery shows several neighbourhoods in parts of the city have been levelled by Israeli strikes and demolitions over the past month.

From BBC

"AI imagery of children can now be so realistic, it is indistinguishable from real imagery," she said.

From BBC

Satellite imagery obtained by BBC Verify from Hainan, a Chinese island province in the South China Sea, suggests Beijing is pouring significant funding into expanding its naval bases.

From BBC

Violent imagery helped launch this made-for-TV president on his journey into the Oval Office.

From Salon

Today, satellites typically capture imagery every 10 minutes, and during severe weather this can be increased to every 30 seconds.

From BBC

Related Words

• symbolism