Meaning & use
conception
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Meanings
nouncountable
An idea or understanding that you have in your mind about what something is or how it works.
Grammar: Often followed by of: a conception of justice.
Patterns
- a conception of something
- have a conception of something
Her conception of success changed after she left the city.
The two groups have very different conceptions of fairness.
He had no conception of how hard the climb would be.
noununcountableformal
The first forming of a plan, design or work in someone's imagination.
Grammar: Often seen in the phrase from conception to completion.
Patterns
- from conception to something
The project took six years from conception to opening.
The novel's conception came to him during a long train ride.
Architects follow the building from conception to finish.
noununcountablemedicalbiology
The moment when a sperm fertilizes an egg and a pregnancy begins.
Grammar: Uncountable and used mostly in medical or biological talk: the date of conception.
Patterns
- the moment of conception
Doctors count weeks from the date of conception.
Some religions hold that life begins at conception.
Conception can take months for some couples.
Word forms
| plural | conceptions |
|---|
Common combinations
- a popular conception
- It is a popular conception that goldfish have short memories.
- a mistaken conception
- Many people hold a mistaken conception of how vaccines work.
- from conception
- The company has been run by women from conception.
- moment of conception
- The moment of conception is hard to pinpoint.
- a narrow conception
- He has a narrow conception of what art can be.
Synonyms and how they differ
- notion
- A notion is a fairly loose idea, often a little vague or doubtful, while a conception is usually more fully formed.
- concept
- A concept is an abstract idea in itself, whereas a conception is one person's or group's way of understanding it.
- understanding
- Understanding is the everyday word and implies some accuracy, whereas conception does not promise the view is correct.
- inception
- Inception means the start of an organization or project and does not cover personal ideas.
Word family
- conceive verb
- to form an idea, or to become pregnant
- conceptual adjective
- relating to ideas
- preconception noun
- an opinion formed before knowing the facts
- misconception noun
- a wrong idea or belief
- contraception noun
- methods used to prevent pregnancy
Commonly confused: conception or perception? conception or misconception?
conception vs perception
Perception is how you notice or interpret things through the senses or judgment. Conception is the idea you form in your mind.
conception vs misconception
A misconception is a conception that is wrong.
Practice
Children often have a very different ___ of time from adults, thinking an afternoon lasts forever.
Choose one answer.
Conception of time means the idea held about it. Perspective can also be used, but with of it is less natural, and reception and exception do not mean an idea.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “conception”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.