imagery

[ im-ij-ree, im-i-juh-ree ]
/ ˈɪm ɪdʒ ri, ˈɪm ɪ dʒə ri /

noun, plural im·age·ries.

the formation of mental images, figures, or likenesses of things, or of such images collectively: the dim imagery of a dream.
pictorial images, as in works of art.
the use of rhetorical images.
figurative description or illustration; rhetorical images collectively.
Psychology. mental images collectively, especially those produced by the action of imagination.

Origin of imagery

1275–1325; Middle English imagerie < Old French. See image, -ery

OTHER WORDS FROM imagery

im·a·ge·ri·al [im-uh-jeer-ee-uh l] /ˌɪm əˈdʒɪər i əl/, adjective im·a·ge·ri·al·ly, adverb

Example sentences from the Web for imagery

British Dictionary definitions for imagery

imagery
/ (ˈɪmɪdʒrɪ, -dʒərɪ) /

noun plural -ries

figurative or descriptive language in a literary work
images collectively
psychol
  1. the materials or general processes of the imagination
  2. the characteristic kind of mental images formed by a particular individualSee also image (def. 7), imagination (def. 1)
military the presentation of objects reproduced photographically (by infrared or electronic means) as prints or electronic displays

Medical definitions for imagery

imagery
[ ĭmĭj-rē ]

n.

A set of mental pictures or images.
A technique in behavior therapy in which the patient is conditioned to use pleasant fantasies to counteract the unpleasant feelings associated with anxiety.

Cultural definitions for imagery

imagery

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.”