Definition of: imagination

(i·maj′ə·nā′shən) noun
1. The picturing power or act of the mind.
2. Psychol. The constructive or creative faculty, expressed in terms of images which either reproduce past experiences or recombine them in ideal or creative forms.
3. That which is imagined; a mental image; a fantasy.
4. An irrational notion or belief.
5. Archaic Planning, plotting, or scheming, as involving mental construction. [<L imaginatio, -onis <imaginatus, pp. of imaginari IMAGINE] Synonyms: fancy, fantasy. Fancy and imagination both belong to the productive or, more properly, the constructive faculty. Both recombine and modify mental images; the one great distinction between them is that fancy is superficial, while imagination is deep, essential, spiritual. Fantasy in ordinary usage simply denotes capricious or erratic fancy, as appears in the adjective fantastic. Compare FANCY, IDEA, THOUGHT¹.