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343 2.9
To imagine how something looks
  • verb
  • /ˈpɪk.tʃɚ/
translation icon : imaginarse
  • And I just can't picture him ever doing that.
  • picture in your mind
  • picture the main character
  • picture an event

Well, I I can I can picture them in some office.

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Examples

  • close your eyes and picture them sitting next to you.

  • Humming to herself, Emma let herself picture all the things she'd seen.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Well, I I can I can picture them in some office.

  • How should we picture what impact that has?

  • OK, when you picture being old, am I with you?

  • Yeah, I, I think I can picture both sides of this.

  • Right now, picture your least favorite employee.

  • And so if you're listening, just picture her using a cell phone.

  • "You know," he said, "I've pictured this a thousand times in my head."

    Fiction book (1991)
  • When you picture a sunny beach, what do you see in your mind?

Synonyms

to see
vsto picture
1.0

To picture something in your mind

is broader, covering any formed mental images not only inner viewing
to imagine
vsto picture
1.3

To form a picture in your mind of something not real

is mainly about making mental images rather than broad thought
to envision
vsto picture
164 4.1

To picture something in your mind, often a possible future

is not limited to future possibilities and applies to any time
to visualize
vsto picture
  • US
75 3.8

Form a clear picture of something in your mind

is a general act of forming mental images rather than detailed inner view
to fancy
vsto picture
52 4.4

To imagine something as possible

is neutral mental imaging rather than wishful or speculative thought
to envisage
vsto picture
11 6.8

To form a picture in your mind of something not present

is general mental imaging without special focus on possibility

Idioms

A view of the whole situation and its most important facts rather than small details

To describe someone or something in detail so the reader can imagine them

Not involved in or told about a situation

1 6.4

To say a situation is better than it really is

Phrasal Verbs

To make a photo using a camera

37 3.2

To understand what someone is saying or what is happening

5 5.3

To become part of a situation and start to change what happens

Compounds

106 3.4

A view of the whole situation that shows the most important parts

A story that uses moving images and sound, like a movie

The act of using a camera to make photos for fun or as a hobby

picture book
  • Baby Talk
16 1.0

A book for children that tells a story mostly with pictures

Very attractive and perfect to look at, like a photograph

A photo taken at a wedding showing the bride and groom and guests

picture show
  • Archaic
10 2.5

A film shown in a cinema for people to watch

A large fixed window made of one big piece of glass that gives a clear view outside

A clear image you form in your mind

A movie shown on a screen that tells a story

A wooden or metal border that holds and protects a picture

A small card with a photo of a place that you send to someone

An American group that gives the Oscars every year for work in movies

A situation with good and bad parts that makes the result unclear

word picture
  • Literature
2 4.2

A clear description that makes you imagine a scene

A camera that takes many pictures quickly to make a movie when played

picture tube
  • Archaic
1 5.8

A long glass tube inside old televisions that makes the picture on the screen

talking picture
  • Archaic
1 7.2

A film with recorded voices and music

A movie made without recorded sound that often has live music

A long roll of plastic with many pictures that goes in a movie camera

picture plane
  • Specialized
1 8.1

A flat imagined surface in a picture that seems closest to the viewer

X-ray picture
  • Specialized
1 3.0

A picture made with X rays that shows the inside of the body

1 5.5

A show that tells a story with moving images and sound like a movie

1 2.6

A playing card with a picture of a person, like a jack, queen or king

A digital screen that shows photos as a slideshow

picture palace
  • Archaic
1 8.9

An old-fashioned cinema where films are shown to the public

A clear image in your mind of a past event

A person who likes watching movies and often goes to the cinema

5.0

Taking moving pictures with a camera to make films

A public show where moving pictures and sound tell a story, like a film at a cinema

A picture of a face made from what witnesses say to help police identify a suspect

picture element
  • Specialized
5.3

The smallest colored dot that makes a digital image on a screen

picture element
  • Texting
4.5

A web page element that lets browsers pick the best image file

A narrow rail fixed high on a wall for hanging paintings

picture writing
  • Specialized
7.0

A way that uses pictures to show words, ideas, or sounds

A room or building where paintings and other art are shown to the public

picture gallery
  • Texting
3.2

A collection of photos shown online for people to view

A large, fancy women's hat with a wide brim and decorations

A perfect moment that looks like a photo

stereoscopic picture
  • Specialized
7.6

Two photos you view together to make a three-dimensional picture

How Vivid

to fantasize
  • US
126 4.5
to envision
164 4.1
to visualize
  • US
75 3.8
to picture
343 2.9
to imagine
1.3
to think of
834 1.0

Surface Forms

picture infinitive
pictured past
pictured past participle
picturing present participle
pictures third person singular

Etymology

Picture as a verb comes from the same idea of making an image, so to picture something is to form a mental image or imagine it as if you painted it in your mind. That's why to picture a place is to see it inside your head.