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CONCEPTION
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The act of becoming pregnant; fertilization of an ovum by a spermatozoon
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("conception" is a kind of...):
sex; sex activity; sexual activity; sexual practice (activities associated with sexual intercourse)
Derivation:
conceive (become pregnant; undergo conception)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The creation of something in the mind
Synonyms:
conception; design; excogitation; innovation; invention
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("conception" is a kind of...):
creative thinking; creativeness; creativity (the ability to create)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "conception"):
concoction (the invention of a scheme or story to suit some purpose)
contrivance (the faculty of contriving; inventive skill)
Derivation:
conceive (have the idea for)
Sense 3
Meaning:
An abstract or general idea inferred or derived from specific instances
Synonyms:
concept; conception; construct
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("conception" is a kind of...):
idea; thought (the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "conception"):
linguistic rule; rule ((linguistics) a rule describing (or prescribing) a linguistic practice)
fact (a concept whose truth can be proved)
hypothesis; possibility; theory (a tentative insight into the natural world; a concept that is not yet verified but that if true would explain certain facts or phenomena)
lexicalized concept (a concept that is expressed by a word (in some particular language))
law; law of nature (a generalization that describes recurring facts or events in nature)
law; natural law (a rule or body of rules of conduct inherent in human nature and essential to or binding upon human society)
whole (all of something including all its component elements or parts)
division; part; section (one of the portions into which something is regarded as divided and which together constitute a whole)
quantity (the concept that something has a magnitude and can be represented in mathematical expressions by a constant or a variable)
abstract; abstraction (a concept or idea not associated with any specific instance)
attribute; dimension; property (a construct whereby objects or individuals can be distinguished)
regulation; rule (a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior)
category (a general concept that marks divisions or coordinations in a conceptual scheme)
notion (a general inclusive concept)
conceptualisation; conceptuality; conceptualization (an elaborated concept)
Antonym:
misconception (an incorrect conception)
Derivation:
conceptional (being of the nature of a notion or concept)
Sense 4
Meaning:
The event that occurred at the beginning of something
Example:
from its creation the plan was doomed to failure
Synonyms:
conception; creation
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("conception" is a kind of...):
beginning (the event consisting of the start of something)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "conception"):
fecundation; fertilisation; fertilization; impregnation (creation by the physical union of male and female gametes; of sperm and ova in an animal or pollen and ovule in a plant)
Context examples:
The WHO says debilitating problems associated with air pollution begin at conception and continue until adolescence.
(WAir Pollution a Health Risk for Children, Lisa Schlein/VOA)
The state or condition of having a developing embryo or fetus in the body (outside the uterus), after union of an ovum and spermatozoon, during the period from conception to birth.
(Ectopic Pregnancy, Food and Drug Administration)
The capacity to conceive or to induce conception.
(Fertility, NCI Thesaurus)
It is impossible to communicate to you a conception of the trembling sensation, half pleasurable and half fearful, with which I am preparing to depart.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
Exposure to potentially harmful chemical, physical, or biological agents in utero or pre-conception.
(Perinatal Exposure, NCI Thesaurus)
Honour is a mediæval conception.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
An abnormal pregnancy in which the conception is implanted on the ovary.
(Ovarian Pregnancy, NCI Thesaurus)
An agent taken orally to prevent conception.
(Oral Contraceptive, NCI Thesaurus)
The period of fetal development in the uterus from the start of conception until its birth.
(Gestational, NCI Thesaurus)
In humans, the developing human from approximately eight weeks after conception until the time of its birth.
(Fetus, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
