1. Something, such as a thought or conception, that potentially or actually exists in the mind as a product of mental activity. 2. An opinion, conviction, or principle: has some strange political ideas.3. A plan, scheme, or method. 4. The gist of a specific situation; significance: The idea is to finish the project under budget.5. A notion; a fancy. 6.Music A theme or motif. 7.Philosophya. In the philosophy of Plato, an archetype of which a corresponding being in phenomenal reality is an imperfect replica. b. In the philosophy of Kant, a concept of reason that is transcendent but nonempirical. c. In the philosophy of Hegel, absolute truth; the complete and ultimate product of reason. 8.Obsolete A mental image of something remembered.
ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English, from Latin, from Greek. See weid- in Appendix I.
OTHER FORMS:
i·dea·less —ADJECTIVE
SYNONYMS:
idea, thought, notion, concept, conception These nouns refer to what is formed or represented in the mind as the product of mental activity. Idea has the widest range: “Human history is in essence a history of ideas” (H.G. Wells). Thought is distinctively intellectual and stresses contemplation and reasoning: “Language is the dress of thought” (Samuel Johnson). Notion often refers to a vague, general, or even fanciful idea: “She certainly has some notion of drawing” (Rudyard Kipling). Concept and conception are applied to mental formulations on a broad scale: You seem to have absolutely no concept of time.“Every succeeding scientific discovery makes greater nonsense of old-time conceptions of sovereignty” (Anthony Eden).
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