Conceptualise

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To create or develop an idea or mental image of something in the mind
2. To imagine or think of a concept clearly in one's mind
3. To construct a mental representation or framework of an abstract idea

Etymology: "Conceptualise" is built in two stages: "conceptual" first, then the suffix "-ize" (spelled "-ise" in British English). "Conceptual" was itself formed in Medieval Latin from "conceptus", the past participle of "concipere", "to take in or conceive", which combines "com-" (together) with "capere", "to take". The Latin root therefore carries the sense of taking something into the mind, which sits behind the English word's idea of building a mental picture. The suffix has a longer and more varied route into English. It comes from Ancient Greek "-izein", which turned verbs into forms meaning "to make or do something". It passed through Late Latin "-izare", then Middle French "-iser", and reached Middle English as "-isen" before becoming the "-ize" ending in English. Once the suffix was attached to "conceptual", the result gave English a verb for turning a notion into a clear, graspable image.

Synonyms: visualize, imagine

Antonyms: misunderstand