envisage

Synonym Chooser

How is the word envisage distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of envisage are conceive, envision, fancy, imagine, realize, and think. While all these words mean "to form an idea of," envisage and envision imply a conceiving or imagining that is especially clear or detailed.

envisaged a totally computerized operation
envisioned a cure for the disease

When is conceive a more appropriate choice than envisage?

The synonyms conceive and envisage are sometimes interchangeable, but conceive suggests the forming and bringing forth and usually developing of an idea, plan, or design.

conceived of a new marketing approach

In what contexts can fancy take the place of envisage?

The words fancy and envisage can be used in similar contexts, but fancy suggests an imagining often unrestrained by reality but spurred by desires.

fancied himself a super athlete

When might imagine be a better fit than envisage?

While the synonyms imagine and envisage are close in meaning, imagine stresses a visualization.

imagine you're at the beach

When could realize be used to replace envisage?

The meanings of realize and envisage largely overlap; however, realize stresses a grasping of the significance of what is conceived or imagined.

realized the enormity of the task ahead

Where would think be a reasonable alternative to envisage?

Although the words think and envisage have much in common, think implies the entrance of an idea into one's mind with or without deliberate consideration or reflection.

I just thought of a good joke

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of envisage Back then, the billionaire was envisaging a fleet of autonomous Tesla cars that could ferry people around town whenever they weren’t needed by their owners. Owen Bellwood / Jalopnik, Quartz, 3 Oct. 2024 Cold War worriers envisaged manly, stiff-jawed computers ordering the launch of nuclear missiles or refusing to open the pod-bay doors. Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2024 The 60 percent tariff on Chinese goods envisaged by Trump would hit American consumers hard and risk fragmenting the global economy, just as the Smoot-Hawley Act did. Charles Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 9 Sep. 2024 The budget is due by October 1st and envisages cuts of Eur 30bn. Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes, 13 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for envisage 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for envisage
Verb
  • The lads didn’t compile or even intend this album—but yeesh, imagine a world without it.
    Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 23 Nov. 2024
  • The mall is an elegy for what mid-20th-century politicians and progressives imagined downtown Los Angeles could be: a city with a vibrant core, accessible by freeways, anchored by a City Hall with encomiums inscribed above entrances exalting the public good.
    Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 22 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • The property was once envisioned as the site of a high school but now sits vacant.
    Jakob Rodgers, The Mercury News, 10 Nov. 2024
  • But perhaps the greatest danger now posed by Russia’s nuclear weapons storage sites is the one that was originally envisioned after the Cold War’s end: that is, the danger that warheads could be seized by a small, rogue group of fighters.
    William M. Moon, Foreign Affairs, 5 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • Instead Trump swept the swing states, won the popular vote and saw Republicans secure control of both houses of Congress.
    Steven Greenhut, Orange County Register, 15 Nov. 2024
  • There were moments of vulnerability never seen from him before.
    Troy Renck, The Denver Post, 15 Nov. 2024

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Thesaurus Entries Near envisage

Cite this Entry

“Envisage.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/envisage. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.

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