What does "conceive" mean?
Conceive: 2. To form in the mind; to plan; to devise; to generate; to originate; as, to conceive a purpose, plan, hope. It was among the ruins of the Capitol that I first conceived the idea of a work which has amused and exercised near twenty years of my life. Gibbon. Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. Is. lix.
Additional senses
- 2.3. To apprehend by reason or imagination; to take into the mind; to know; to imagine; to comprehend; to understand. "I conceive you." Hawthorne. O horror, horror, horror! Tongue nor heart Cannot conceive nor name thee! Shak. You will hardly conceive him to have been bred in the same climate. Swift.
- 3.To have an embryo or fetus formed in the womb; to breed; to become pregnant. A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son. Isa. vii.
- 4.2. To have a conception, idea, or opinion; think; -- with of. Conceive of things clearly and distinctly in their own natures. I. Watts.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00