Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Conceive \Con*ceive"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Conceived}; p. pr. &
vb. n. {Conceiving}.] [OF. conzoivre, concever, conceveir, F.
concevoir, fr. L. oncipere to take, to conceive; con- +
capere to seize or take. See {Capable}, and cf.
{Conception}.]
1. To receive into the womb and begin to breed; to begin the
formation of the embryo of.
She hath also conceived a son in her old age. --Luke
i. 36.
2. To form in the mind; to plan; to devise; to generate; to
originate; as, to conceive a purpose, plan, hope.
It 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. --Gibbon.
Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of
falsehood. --Is. lix. 13.
3. To apprehend by reason or imagination; to take into the
mind; to know; to imagine; to comprehend; to understand.
``I conceive you.'' --Hawthorne.
O horror, horror, horror! Tongue nor heart Cannot
conceive nor name thee! --Shak.
You will hardly conceive him to have been bred in
the same climate. --Swift.
Syn: To apprehend; imagine; suppose; understand; comprehend;
believe; think.
Conceive \Con*ceive"\, v. i.
1. To have an embryo or fetus formed in the womb; to breed;
to become pregnant.
A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son. --Isa. vii.
14.
2. To have a conception, idea, or opinion; think; -- with of.
Conceive of things clearly and distinctly in their
own natures. --I. Watts.
Source : WordNet®
conceive
v 1: have the idea for; "He conceived of a robot that would help
paralyzed patients"; "This library was well conceived"
[syn: {gestate}, {conceptualize}, {conceptualise}]
2: judge or regard; look upon; judge; "I think he is very
smart"; "I believe her to be very smart"; "I think that he
is her boyfriend"; "The racist conceives such people to be
inferior" [syn: {think}, {believe}, {consider}]
3: become pregnant; undergo conception; "She cannot conceive";
"My daughter was conceived in Christmas Day"