Conceive

Pronunciation

• IPA: kÉ™nˈsiːv
• Rhymes: -iːv

Alternative forms

• conceave obsolete

Origin

From Middle English conceiven, from Old French concevoir, conceveir, from Latin concipere ("to take"), from con- ("together") + capio ("to take"). Compare deceive, perceive, receive.

Full definition of conceive

Verb

1. (transitive) To develop an idea; to form in the mind; to plan; to devise; to originate.
• 1606, , Shakespeare, II-4We shall,
  As I conceive the journey, be at the Mount
  Before you, Lepidus.
• GibbonIt was among the ruins of the Capitol that I first conceived the idea of a work which has amused and exercised near twenty years of my life.
• 1898, Winston Churchill, The Celebrity Chapter 3, Now all this was very fine, but not at all in keeping with the Celebrity's character as I had come to conceive it. The idea that adulation ever cloyed on him was ludicrous in itself. In fact I thought the whole story fishy, and came very near to saying so.
2. (transitive) To understand (someone).
• Nathaniel HawthorneI conceive you.
• Jonathan SwiftYou will hardly conceive him to have been bred in the same climate.
3. (to become pregnant)(intransitive or transitive) To become pregnant.
   Assisted procreation can help those trying to conceive.
• Bible, Luke i. 36She hath also conceived a son in her old age.

Related terms

• conceivable
• conceiver
• concept
• conception