conceived; conceiving
1
a
: to become pregnant with (young)
conceive a child
b
: to cause to begin : originate
a project conceived by the company's founder
2
a
: to take into one's mind
conceive a prejudice
b
: to form a conception of : imagine
a badly conceived design
cleverly conceived teleplays
3
: to apprehend by reason or imagination : understand
unable to conceive his reasons
It is easy enough to conceive the notion that your island is a sort of fortress.—
Paul Theroux
Paul Theroux4
: to have as an opinion
I cannot conceive that he acted alone.
1
: to become pregnant
2
: to have a conception
—usually used with of
conceives of death as emptiness
It is hard to conceive of all the work that must have been involved in starting off from scratch.—Harold Fromm
Harold Fromm
conceiver
noun
Synonyms
Examples of conceive in a Sentence
When the writer conceived this role, he had a specific actor in mind to play the part.
As conceived by the committee, the bill did not raise taxes.
a woman who has been unable to conceive
a woman who has been unable to conceive a child
Recent Examples on the Web
The Electoral College was conceived of and adopted at the 1787 Constitutional Convention.
—Fernando Cervantes Jr., The Enquirer, 6 Nov. 2024
Courtney Deady and her husband have been trying to conceive a baby for nearly 10 years.
—Bailey Schulz, USA TODAY, 1 Nov. 2024
Taking the crypto path, Trump (and his sons) conceived and promoted a dubious DeFi product called World Liberty Financial.
—Dave Birnbaum, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024
That same year, Musk and Grimes were expecting a second child, also conceived via IVF but carried by a surrogate.
—Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 30 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for conceive 
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.
Fernando Cervantes Jr., The Enquirer, 6 Nov. 2024
Courtney Deady and her husband have been trying to conceive a baby for nearly 10 years.
—Bailey Schulz, USA TODAY, 1 Nov. 2024
Taking the crypto path, Trump (and his sons) conceived and promoted a dubious DeFi product called World Liberty Financial.
—Dave Birnbaum, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024
That same year, Musk and Grimes were expecting a second child, also conceived via IVF but carried by a surrogate.
—Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 30 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for conceive
Articles Related to conceive
Dictionary Entries Near conceive
Cite this Entry
“Conceive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conceive. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
conceive
verb
con·ceive
kən-ˈsēv 
conceived; conceiving
1
: to become pregnant or pregnant with
conceive a child
2
a
: to take into the mind
conceived a liking for the singer
b
: to form an idea of : imagine
conceive a new design
3
: to have as an opinion : think
conceived of her as a genius
conceivable
adjective
-ˈsē-və-bəl
conceivably
adverb
-blē
conceiver
noun
Medical Definition
conceive
verb
con·ceive
kən-ˈsēv
conceived; conceiving
: to become pregnant with (young)
: to become pregnant
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share