Conceive definition

kən-sēv
conceived conceives conceiving
See word origin
Frequency:
To form or develop in the mind.

Conceive a plan to increase profits; conceive a passion for a new acquaintance.

verb
17
6
To apprehend mentally; understand.
verb
7
2
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.

verb
1
0
To become pregnant with.
verb
1
0
To become pregnant.
verb
1
0
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To understand (someone).
verb
1
0
To put in words; couch; express.
verb
0
0
To form a concept or idea (of)
verb
0
0
To cause an offspring to begin life.

The couple had no trouble conceiving.

verb
0
0
To develop an idea; to form in the mind; to plan; to devise; to originate.
verb
0
0
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​(intransitive or) To become pregnant.
  • Bible, Luke i. 36
    She hath also conceived a son in her old age.

Assisted procreation can help those trying to conceive.

verb
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0
To form or hold an idea.

Ancient peoples conceived of the earth as flat.

verb
5
6
To become pregnant.
verb
2
3
To be of the opinion that; think.

Didn't conceive that such a tragedy could occur.

verb
1
2
To form or develop in the mind.
verb
1
2
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To hold as one's conviction or opinion; think; imagine.
verb
1
2
To understand; apprehend.
verb
1
2
To cause to begin life.

The young couple conceived their first child.

verb
0
1
To become pregnant.
verb
6
8
To begin or originate in a specific way.

A political movement that was conceived in the ferment of the 1960s.

verb
1
3
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To apprehend mentally; understand.

Couldn't conceive the meaning of that sentence.

verb
2
5
To become pregnant with (offspring).

She conceived her first child in London, but her second child was conceived in Paris.

verb
4
8

Origin of conceive

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

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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

    From Wiktionary

Conceive Sentence Examples

  • It is certainly possible to conceive of a single day without war.

  • We may conceive of the Third Crusade under the figure of a number of converging lines, all seeking to reach a common centre.

  • When a people migrate they may take with them their god, and if they conceive him to be a spiritual being who cannot be represented by an image, they may desire a symbolical expression of or, rather, a substitute for his presence.

  • To us God's sovereignty over nature often seems the hardest thing to conceive; but to primitive peoples who know nothing of laws of nature, His moral sovereignty is a much more difficult conception.

  • Conceive these gases passing at this great velocity through the narrow openings between the adjoining lumps of coke and ore.

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