to the imagination
1
8.1
- idiom
:
a la imaginación
- The flurry of rumors and reports surrounding Apple's upcoming iPhone launch has left little to the imagination about what Apple will actually announce Wednesday, but I'm still hoping for a few surprises.
- appeal to the imagination
Examples
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Men and I say men do not respect women who don't leave anything to the imagination.
Blog text (5) -
Whatever happened to leaving something to the imagination?
Blog text (20) -
Let's be honest, she never leaves much (if anything) to the imagination.
Blog text (5) -
Most Hollywood films are too obvious and leave nothing to the imagination, but this one tries too hard to be whatever the viewer wants it to be.
Blog text (20) -
If you grow up on a farm, there isn't much left to the imagination by the time you're in 5th grade.
Blog text (5) -
She wore a beautiful gown that left much to the imagination without being too revealing.
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The movie's ending was open, allowing several interpretations and leaving a lot to the imagination.
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His abstract painting was intriguing and definitely left to the imagination what he was trying to convey.
Antonyms
How Explicit
Surface Forms
Morphology
to + the + imagination
The phrase 'to the imagination' straightforwardly indicates that something is being given over to one's imagination — 'imagination' (mental ability) combined with the preposition 'to' conveys assignment or direction. This compositional meaning is common across languages and follows simple English patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will very likely infer the intended sense.
Etymology
The phrase to the imagination paints a simple picture: a storyteller leaves part of a scene out so each listener's imagination fills the empty space. That's why it means 'not clearly said' or 'left for the listener to imagine'.