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conception

[kuhn-sep-shuhn] / kənˈsɛp ʃən /




Usage

What are other ways to say conception? The noun conception suggests a thought that seems complete, individual, recent, or somewhat intricate: The architect's conception delighted them. Thought, which reflects its primary emphasis on the mental process, may denote any concept except the more weighty and elaborate ones: I welcomed his thoughts on the subject. A thought came to him. Notion suggests a fleeting, vague, or imperfect thought: a bare notion of how to proceed. Idea, although it may refer to thoughts of any degree of seriousness or triviality, is commonly used for mental concepts considered more important or elaborate: We pondered the idea of the fourth dimension. The idea of his arrival frightened me.  

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

One is whether it has any conception of what it takes to make a good doctor.

From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026

Fourteen years after its conception, museumgoers will starting May 1 be able to walk the replica ship's decks, immersed in a giant, wrap-around LED display of star-studded night skies.

From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026

“It changed my entire conception of who I was in the community,” Silva says.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026

But it takes a series of self-reflexive turns that are overelaborate in their conception and slightly inert in their execution, rendering the movie’s poignancy more theoretical than fully felt.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

“You swear solemnly that you have no conception of what I speak.”

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson




Vocabulary lists containing conception


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