imagery

[im-ij-ree, im-i-juh-ree] /ˈɪm ɪdʒ ri, ˈɪm ɪ dʒə ri/
noun, plural imageries.
1.
the formation of mental images, figures, or likenesses of things, or of such images collectively:
the dim imagery of a dream.
2.
pictorial images, as in works of art.
3.
the use of rhetorical images.
4.
figurative description or illustration; rhetorical images collectively.
5.
Psychology. mental images collectively, especially those produced by the action of imagination.
Origin
1275-1325; Middle English imagerie < Old French. See image, -ery
Related forms
imagerial
[im-uh-jeer-ee-uh l] /ˌɪm əˈdʒɪər i əl/ (Show IPA), adjective
imagerially, adverb
Examples from the web for imagery
  • He would say what he felt and would say it in imagery of his own fashioning.
  • The simplest of these is the failure to distinguish between imagery and thought.
  • Nor was it the kind of laughter that cheats by turning in the end to tears, or by needing reinforcement with imagery.
  • Infrared imagery in online maps lets homeowners see their energy efficiency.
  • Their typing and mouse commands are sent to the software on the server, and the imagery for their display is sent back.
  • Official newspapers were probably glad not to have to second-guess censors' concerns about that kind of imagery.
  • Using automotive imagery to sell a handset makes a lot of sense for, in many respects, mobile phones are replacing cars.
  • Mid-term elections do not normally generate such histrionic imagery.
  • But not all investigators agree that dream imagery originates in visual areas.
  • Vast tracts of tropical rainforest have been replaced by palm oil plantations for food and biofuels, satellite imagery reveals.
British Dictionary definitions for imagery

imagery

/ˈɪmɪdʒrɪ; -dʒərɪ/
noun (pl) -ries
1.
figurative or descriptive language in a literary work
2.
images collectively
3.
(psychol)
  1. the materials or general processes of the imagination
  2. the characteristic kind of mental images formed by a particular individual See also image (sense 7), imagination (sense 1)
4.
(military) the presentation of objects reproduced photographically (by infrared or electronic means) as prints or electronic displays
Word Origin and History for imagery
n.

mid-14c., "piece of sculpture, carved figures," from Old French imagerie (13c.), from imagier "painter," from image (see image (n.)). Meaning "ornate description" (in poetry, etc.) is from 1580s.

imagery in Medicine

imagery im·age·ry (ĭm'ĭj-rē)
n.

  1. A set of mental pictures or images.

  2. A technique in behavior therapy in which the patient is conditioned to use pleasant fantasies to counteract the unpleasant feelings associated with anxiety.

imagery in Culture

imagery definition


The mental pictures created by a piece of writing: “The imagery of “The Waste Land” — crumbling towers, dried-up wells, toppled tombstones — conveys the author's sense of a civilization in decay.”

imagery in the Bible

only in the phrase "chambers of his imagery" (Ezek. 8:12). (See CHAMBER.)