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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.

See Examples For:

But growing research is complicating the idea that these alternatives are automatically healthier.

From Science Daily Sep. 6, 2026

But pulling that idea out of the multiplex, admitting that you think so little of your fellow Americans that you would champion a movie like “Idiocracy,” should inspire some shame.

From Salon Sep. 6, 2026

So your tracker has a really good idea of your heart rate asleep, and long-term tracking can reveal shifts in fitness or onset illness.

From The Wall Street Journal Sep. 6, 2026

Although Kroenke was not addressing this idea of an unbeaten season, why not?

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 6, 2026

“I have had an idea, Elizabeth, in the night, a wonderful idea, a grand idea. A secret.”

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov called the talks "extremely frank", saying the Americans "put forward a number of ideas on possible routes to a settlement", but did not elaborate.

From Barron's Sep. 6, 2026

He and Holland initially thought they were simply part of a wider audition process, but then found themselves repeatedly being invited into writers' rooms and asked for their views on ideas for the show.

From BBC Sep. 5, 2026

She’s delivered masterful musical dissertations that challenge rigid ideas of “genre” and reemphasized the Black origins of traditions like country, rock and Americana.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 4, 2026

“The ideas that they have in there are pretty modern,” said John C. Atwater, founder of real-estate investment and management firm Prime Residential.

From The Wall Street Journal Sep. 4, 2026

I looked around at his congregation of sturdy villagers and farmers and saw that they did not care for such ideas.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom




Vocabulary lists containing idea


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