conceive

con·ceive

Use conceive in a sentence

verb

To conceive is to get pregnant, to coming up with a plan or to imagine something.

An example of conceive is when a man and a woman create a child.
An example of conceive is when you come up with an idea for a new product.
An example of conceive is when you cannot imagine winning the lottery.

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MLA Style

"conceive." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Conceive>.

APA Style

conceive. (n.d.). Retrieved February 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Conceive

conceive

transitive verb

-·ceived′, -·ceiv′ing

1. to become pregnant with
2. to cause to begin life: the young couple conceived their first child
to form or develop in the mind
to hold as one's conviction or opinion; think; imagine
to understand; apprehend
to put in words; couch; express

Origin of conceive

Middle English conceiven from Old French conceveir from Classical Latin concipere (pp. conceptus), to take in, receive from com-, together + capere, to take: see have

1. to become pregnant
2. to cause an offspring to begin life: the couple had no trouble conceiving
to form a concept or idea (of)

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Link to this page

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MLA Style

"conceive." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Conceive>.

APA Style

conceive. (n.d.). Retrieved February 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Conceive

conceive

verb

con·ceived, con·ceiv·ing, con·ceives

verb

transitive

To become pregnant with (offspring): She conceived her first child in London, but her second child was conceived in Paris.
To form or develop in the mind: conceive a plan to increase profits; conceive a passion for a new acquaintance.
To apprehend mentally; understand: couldn't conceive the meaning of that sentence.
To be of the opinion that; think: didn't conceive that such a tragedy could occur.
To begin or originate in a specific way: a political movement that was conceived in the ferment of the 1960s.

verb

intransitive

To form or hold an idea: Ancient peoples conceived of the earth as flat.
To become pregnant.

Origin of conceive

Middle English conceiven from Old French concevoir conceiv- from Latin concipere com- intensive pref. ; see com- . capere to take ; see kap- in Indo-European roots.

Related Forms:

con·ceiv′a·bil′i·ty con·ceiv′a·ble·ness
noun

con·ceiv′a·ble
adjective

con·ceiv′a·bly
adverb

con·ceiv′er
noun

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"conceive." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Conceive>.

APA Style

conceive. (n.d.). Retrieved February 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Conceive

Verb

(third-person singular simple present conceives, present participle conceiving, simple past and past participle conceived)

To develop an idea; to form in the mind; to plan; to devise; to originate.
To understand (someone).
(intransitive or) To become pregnant.
Assisted procreation can help those trying to conceive.
- Bible, Luke i. 36
  She hath also conceived a son in her old age.

Origin

From Middle English conceiven, from Old French concevoir, conceveir, from Latin concipere (“to take”), from con- (“together”) + capio (“to take”). Compare deceive, perceive, receive.