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idea

[ahy-dee-uh, ahy-deeuh] / aɪˈdi ə, aɪˈdiə /


Usage

What are other ways to say idea? The noun 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. 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. Conception suggests a thought that seems complete, individual, recent, or somewhat intricate: The architect's conception delighted them. Notion suggests a fleeting, vague, or imperfect thought: a bare notion of how to proceed.

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.

No one forced him to sign-up, he said, but the idea was constantly present.

From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026

A long-standing idea in neuroscience holds that the brain acts as a centralized controller that decides which actions an animal will perform.

From Science Daily • Jun. 10, 2026

But you might have no idea if you’ve been listening to hockey-ignorant media dopes like me lather attention on the incoming World Cup and the East Coast-pleasing, media-hub Knicks-Spurs NBA final.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026

“You talk to them and they would say, ‘I have no idea where everything is,’” he said.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 10, 2026

Humans, of course, had no idea they had such influence.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman




Vocabulary lists containing idea


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