ideation

noun

ˌī-dē-ˈā-shən How to pronounce ideation (audio)
Definition of ideationnext
as in creativity
the ability to form mental images of things that either are not physically present or have never been conceived or created by others caregivers are trained to watch for signs of depression and suicidal ideation—some patients are likely to put their fantasies to action

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ideation The affidavit states that Proper was transported to a local hospital for emergency admission based on what investigators described as homicidal ideation. — Christina Coulter, PEOPLE, 16 June 2026 The facility supports customers throughout the innovation cycle, from early-stage ideation to near-series prototyping, with capabilities spanning warp knitting, warp preparation and technical textiles. — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 2 July 2026 Across Specialist Teams To Improve Every Workflow AI has not affected our agency model, which is hub-and-spoke—the hub is the consultant and the lead working on strategy, ideation and management, with the spokes, or specialists, driving execution. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026 In Second Nature, scientists theorize that Darwin couldn’t help but impose his own heterosexual ideations on animal reproduction, mainly that animals only copulate for the purposes of reproduction, with males being the aggressors and females fluttering their eyelids behind lace fans, or something. — Rachel Brodsky, Rolling Stone, 20 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for ideation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ideation
  1. creativity
  2. imagination
  3. imaginativeness
Noun
  • Aguirre removed Quiñones in favor or taller options, but Mexico never recovered from the loss of offensive creativity.
    — Eduard Cauich, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026
  • This is a special week to focus upon your heart’s desires, creativity, and romantic world.
    — Kyle Thomas, PEOPLE, 5 July 2026
Definition of creativity
Noun
  • The books give very small children pure possession of some of the places their imaginations most like to wander, with a palm tree and a boat for their island, a barn and a pile of hay for their farm, rocks and a bridge for their forest.
    — Casey Cep, New Yorker, 7 July 2026
  • During the session, Simon Morris, VP of International Marketing at Adobe, and creator Brandon Baum discussed how AI can serve as a creative partner without replacing the imagination, judgment, and lived experience behind the work.
    — C200, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
Definition of imagination
Noun
  • There's also a palpable new seam of imaginativeness among residents.
    — Toby Skinner, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Nov. 2024
Definition of imaginativeness

Browse Nearby Words

ideating
ideation
ideational
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ideation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ideation. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of tacit

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All