conception
noun
con·cep·tion
| \ kÉn-Ësep-shÉn
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Definition of conception
1a(1)
: the process of becoming pregnant involving fertilization or implantation or both
b
: beginning
"Joy had the like conception in our eyes ⊠"— William Shakespeare
2a
: the capacity, function, or process of forming or understanding ideas or abstractions or their symbols
He directed the project from conception to completion.
b
: a general idea : concept
We get the conception of an animal ⊠by comparing different animals ⊗ John Stuart Mill
c
: a complex product of abstract or reflective thinking
the philosopher's conception of reality
d
: the sum of a person's ideas and beliefs concerning something
his conception of the American dream
3
: the originating of something in the mind
an artist's conception of how the city would look a hundred years from now
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Other Words from conception
conceptional
\ kÉn-Ësep-shnÉl
, -shÉ-ná”l \
adjective
, -shÉ-ná”l \
adjective
conceptive
\ kÉn-Ësep-tiv
\
adjective
\
adjective
Synonyms for conception
Synonyms
concept, generality, generalization, notion, stereotype
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Examples of conception in a Sentence
He directed the project from conception to production.
the conception of a new device
They have a clear conception of how the process works.
a child's conception of responsibility
They have very different conceptions of the proper role of government.
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Recent Examples on the Web
Pope Francis represented a more progressive and modern view of Christianity that accepted and promulgated the Western conception of human rights. — Jason Horowitz, New York Times, "A Clash of Worldviews as Pope Francis and Putin Meet Again," 4 July 2019 These are artists whose conception of femininity wasnât necessarily conceived in relationship or contrast to manhood and masculinity. — John Adamian, courant.com, "Female rockers Pat Benatar, Melissa Etheridge and Liz Phair at Foxwoods," 21 June 2019 But this conception of economic life is not really bottom-up. — E.j. Dionne Jr., The Mercury News, "Dionne: How Warren is driving the idea of building a moral economy," 17 June 2019 In contrast, the individual conception of affirmative action in college admissions remains alive, if hanging on by a thread. — Noah Feldman, The New York Review of Books, "Arguing Affirmative Action," 7 Feb. 2019 If independent Alyse Galvin or Democrat Dimitri Shein wins the Democratic primary, eitherâs vehicle will pit new technology against the conception of an old-style gas guzzler. — Mark Thiessen, The Seattle Times, "AP News Guide: Alaska primary election," 20 Aug. 2018 To have no conception of how other beliefs could be right for someone else is to fail to understand that other people can have an emotional makeup, cultural history and/or set of life experiences that differ from yours, and thatâs just . . — Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, "Carolyn Hax: He changes jobs as if he were changing socks," 29 July 2019 Our conception of democratic participation and political rights is so different from that of the Framers that the exercise would be futile. — Guy-uriel E. Charles, Time, "SCOTUS's Ruling on Gerrymandering Endangers US Democracy," 11 July 2019 This word suggests that her conception of the American legal system was informed by the Guatemalan or Mexican one. — Colin Barrett, Harper's magazine, "âJust Keep Going Northâ," 5 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'conception.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for conception
conception
noun
English Language Learners Definition of conception
: the process of forming an idea
: the process that occurs within a woman's body when she becomes pregnant
: an idea of what something is or should be
See the full definition for conception in the English Language Learners Dictionary
conception
noun
con·cep·tion
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