conceive/imagine

kansi

kansi

Senior Member
japanese
to conceive here means to imagine, I guess. I just checked here:Conceive definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary and seems like to conceive here means the number 1.

what's the difference between imagine and conceive when it means to imagine?
imagine is a more daily-used word, only which I could find as the difference.

Thank you!

(from resilience.org)
The trouble is that against all evidence, some climate economists keep building castles in the sky. Nobel Prize winner William Nordhaus is among the most prominent economists working on climate change and its economic effects. In short, Nordhaus, who is mentioned both in my 2007 and 2012 pieces, tells us not to worry too much about climate change. It will be cheaper to adapt to it than to prevent it or slow it down.

The problem with Nordhaus’ thinking (and that of many others like him) is that he cannot conceive of abrupt discontinuities in the workings of the planet or the workings of human society. In short, he cannot conceive that climate change could alter our environment so thoroughly and disrupt our agriculture so completely that it would lead to catastrophic results.
 
    • Conceive (in this sense) is very similar in meaning to imagine, but it’s more formal and more forceful – implying getting one’s head around something that’s difficult to imagine.
     
    lingobingo said:
    Conceive (in this sense) is very similar in meaning to imagine, but it’s more formal and more forceful – implying getting one’s head around something that’s difficult to imagine.
    Click to expand...
    So it's not a daily-used word at all?
    it would be found more in writings or speechs, talks with someone at higher ranks.

    "In short, he cannot conceive that climate change could alter our environment" is same to "In short, he cannot get his head around that climate change could alter our environment(*he is thinking the fact that climate change could alter our environment as something difficult to imagine).

    Is this correct?
     
    lingobingo said:
    Conceive (in this sense) is very similar in meaning to imagine, but it’s more formal and more forceful – implying getting one’s head around something that’s difficult to imagine.
    Click to expand...
    by the way, the dictionary says when it means to imagine, it's always in a negative form.Is this true?
     
    Thanks. But that page doesn’t say what you imply in #4 at all. It simply gives not being able to conceive of something (imagine/believe a particular idea) as a typical use – which it is.
     
    In BE it wouldn’t be idiomatic to use conceive + that-clause.

    conceive of something (active, with whoever conceives as the subject)
    be conceived as something (passive, with what’s conceived as the subject)
     
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