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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:

David and his wife Ally had previously told the BBC that they had no idea the child they adopted from Indonesia could have been trafficked.

From BBC Jul. 23, 2026

Warsh has vowed repeatedly over the last two months to restore price stability, to disabuse investors of the idea the Fed has implicitly accepted higher inflation.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 23, 2026

Many investors right now may turn their noses up at the idea of locking in a 3% yield for years or even decades, Elliott points out.

From MarketWatch Jul. 23, 2026

“I do like the idea of a little mystery.”

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 23, 2026

The idea that a teacher would have a brother at all stumped Lloyd.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

The goal would be to make available, to students of all ages everywhere, a truly comprehensive record of documented human civilizations and ideas in all their variety.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 23, 2026

Even those who do hire a professional sometimes need extra help, a second opinion or just somebody to test ideas with — off the clock.

From MarketWatch Jul. 22, 2026

"Right now, the war is changing, so we need new ideas and a new structure," 44-year-old law company employee Tetiana Makarenko told me at one of the protests over the weekend.

From BBC Jul. 21, 2026

“We see them as intellectualizing or sanitizing radical-right ideas that are then taken up by the parties in power,” said Allchorn, the U.K. extremism expert.

From Salon Jul. 21, 2026

Instead, we celebrate my miraculous recovery of the watch case—I checked inside and four watches are still there, thankfully—and brainstorm birthday present ideas for Dad.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller




Vocabulary lists containing idea


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