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Webster 1913 Edition
Conceive
Con-ceive′
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Conceived
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Conceiving
.] [OF.
conzoivre
, concever
, conceveir
, F. concevoir
, fr. L. oncipere
to take, to conceive; con-
+ capere
to seize or take. See Capable
, and cf. Conception
.] 1.
To receive into the womb and begin to breed; to begin the formation of the embryo of.
She hath also
conceived
a son in her old age. Luke i. 36.
2.
To form in the mind; to plan; to devise; to generate; to originate;
as, to
. conceive
a purpose, plan, hopeIt 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. 13.
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
Cannot
conceive
nor name thee! Shakespeare
Syn. – To apprehend; imagine; suppose; understand; comprehend; believe; think.
Con-ceive′
,Verb.
I.
1.
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. 14.
2.
To have a conception, idea, or opinion; think; – with of.
Conceive
of things clearly and distinctly in their own natures. I. Watts.
Webster 1828 Edition
Conceive
CONCEIVE
,Verb.
T.
1.
To receive into the womb, and breed; to begin the formation of the embryo or fetus of animal.Then shall she be free and conceive seed. Numbers 5. Hebrew 11.
Elisabeth hath conceived a son in her old age. Luke 1.
In sin did my mother conceive me. Psalm 51.
2.
To form in the mind; to imagine; to devise.They conceive mischief and bring forth vanity. Job 15.
Nebuchadnezzar hath conceived a purpose against you. Jeremiah 49.
3.
To form an idea in the mind; to understand; to comprehend.We cannot conceive the manner in which spirit operates upon matter.
4.
To think; to be of opinion; to have an idea; to imagine.You can hardly conceive this man to have been bred in the same climate.
CONCEIVE
,Verb.
I.
1.
To have a fetus formed in the womb; to breed; to become pregnant.Thou shalt conceive and bear a son. Judges 13.
2.
To think; to have a conception or idea.Conceive of things clearly and distinctly in their own natures. The grieved commons hardly conceive of me.
3.
To understand; to comprehend; to have a complete idea of; as, I cannot conceive by what means this event has been produced.Definition 2024
conceive
conceive
English
Alternative forms
- conceave (obsolete)
Verb
conceive (third-person singular simple present conceives, present participle conceiving, simple past and past participle conceived)
- (transitive) To develop an idea; to form in the mind; to plan; to devise; to originate.
- 1606, Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare, II-4
- We shall, / As I conceive the journey, be at the Mount / Before you, Lepidus.
- Gibbon
- 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.
- 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 3, in The Celebrity:
- Now all this was very fine, but not at all in keeping with the Celebrity's character as I had come to conceive it. The idea that adulation ever cloyed on him was ludicrous in itself. In fact I thought the whole story fishy, and came very near to saying so.
- 1606, Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare, II-4
- (transitive) To understand (someone).
- Nathaniel Hawthorne
- I conceive you.
- Jonathan Swift
- You will hardly conceive him to have been bred in the same climate.
- Nathaniel Hawthorne
-
(intransitive or transitive) 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.
Related terms
Translations
to develop an idea
|
to understand someone
|
to become pregnant
|
|