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idea |
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idea [aɪˈdɪə] n 1. any content of the mind, esp the conscious mind 2. the thought of something the very idea appals me 3. a mental representation of something she's got a good idea of the layout of the factory 4. the characterization of something in general terms; concept the idea of a square circle is self-contradictory 5. an individual's conception of something his idea of honesty is not the same as yours and mine 6. the belief that something is the case he has the idea that what he's doing is right 7. a scheme, intention, plan, etc. here's my idea for the sales campaign 8. a vague notion or indication; inkling he had no idea of what life would be like in Africa 9. significance or purpose the idea of the game is to discover the murderer 10. (Philosophy) Philosophy a. a private mental object, regarded as the immediate object of thought or perception b. a Platonic Idea or Form 11. (Music / Classical Music) Music a thematic phrase or figure; motif 12. Obsolete a mental image get ideas to become ambitious, restless, etc not one's idea of not what one regards as (hard work, a holiday, etc.) that's an idea that is worth considering the very idea! that is preposterous, unreasonable, etc. [via Late Latin from Greek: model, pattern, notion, from idein to see] idealess adj Usage: It is usually considered correct to say that someone has the idea of doing something, rather than the idea to do it: he had the idea of taking (not the idea to take) a short holiday Idea [aɪˈdɪə] n
(Philosophy) another name for Form ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
idea noun 1. plan, scheme, proposal, design, theory, strategy, method, solution, suggestion, recommendation, proposition It's a good idea to keep a stock of tins in the cupboard. 2. notion, thought, view, understanding, teaching, opinion, belief, conclusion, hypothesis, impression, conviction, judgment, interpretation, sentiment, doctrine, conception, viewpoint Some of his ideas about democracy are entirely his own. 3. impression, estimate, guess, hint, notion, clue, conjecture, surmise, inkling, approximation, intimation, ballpark figure This graph will give you some idea of levels of ability. 4. understanding, thought, view, sense, opinion, concept, impression, judgment, perception, conception, abstraction, estimation By the end of the week you will have a clearer idea of the system. 5. suspicion, guess, impression, notion, hunch, conjecture, gut feeling (informal), supposition I had an idea that he joined the army later. Related words fear ideophobia Quotations "Nothing is more dangerous than an idea, when you have only one idea" [Alain Propos sur la religion] "A stand can be made against invasion by an army; no stand can be made against invasion by an idea" [Victor Hugo Histoire d'une Crime] "It is better to entertain an idea than to take it home to live with you for the rest of your life" [Randall Jarrell Pictures from an Institution] "Right now it's only a notion, but I think I can get the money to make it into a concept, and later turn it into an idea" [Woody Allen Annie Hall] Translations idea [aɪˈdɪə] N 1. (= thought, plan) → idea f it wasn't my idea → no fue idea mía that's the idea → así es the idea is to sell it → la idea or el plan es venderlo let's forget the whole idea → olvidémonos de todo el asunto I can't bear the idea (of it) → sólo de pensarlo me pongo mala it wouldn't be a bad idea to paint it → no le vendría mal pintarlo it might not be a bad idea to wait a few days → puede que no sea mala idea esperar unos cuantos días whose bright idea was it to come this way? (iro) → ¿quién ha tenido la bonita or feliz idea de venir por aquí? you'll have to buck up your ideas → tendrás que menearte the idea never entered my head → ni se me pasó esa idea por la cabeza to get an idea for a novel → encontrar una idea para una novela don't go getting ideas (= build up one's hopes) → no te hagas ilusiones; (= be presumptuous) → no se te ocurra he got the idea into his head that they didn't like him → se le metió en la cabeza(la idea de)que no les caía bien once she gets an idea into her head there's no stopping her → como se le meta una idea en la cabeza no hay quien se la quite to get used to the idea of sth → hacerse a la idea de algo to give sb ideas → meter ideas en la cabeza a algn whatever gave you that idea? → ¿como se te ha ocurrido semejante cosa? good idea! → ¡buena idea! what a good idea! → ¡qué idea más buena! to have an idea → tener una idea I suddenly had the idea of going to see her → de repente se me ocurrió ir a verla → de repente tuve la idea de ir a verla he hit on the idea of painting it red → se le ocurrió pintarlo de rojo to put ideas into sb's head → meter ideas en la cabeza a algn the very idea!, what an idea! → ¡qué ocurrencias! 2. (= understanding) → idea f have you any idea how ridiculous you look? → ¿tienes idea de lo ridículo que estás? I haven't the foggiest idea → no tengo ni la menor or más remota or más mínima idea what(ever) gave you that idea? → ¿de dónde sacaste eso? to get an idea of sth → hacerse una idea de algo you're getting the idea (= understanding) → estás empezando a comprender; (= getting the knack) → estás cogiendo el tino or truco I've got the general idea → he comprendido la idea general where did you get that idea? → ¿de dónde sacaste eso? don't get the wrong idea → no malinterpretes la situación many people have got the wrong idea about him → mucha gente tiene un concepto equivocado de él I haven't the least idea → no tengo ni la menor or más remota or más mínima idea I've no idea! → ¡ni idea! it was awful, you've no idea → no te puedes hacer una idea de lo horrible que fue I had no idea that → no tenía ni idea or la menor idea de que ... I haven't the slightest idea → no tengo ni la menor or más remota or más mínima idea he has some idea of French → tiene algo de idea de francés 3. (= conception, notion) → idea f there may be some truth in the idea that → puede que haya algo de cierto en la idea de que ... she has some odd ideas about how to bring up children → tiene unas ideas muy raras or una opinión muy rara de cómo criar a los niños it wasn't my idea of a holiday → no era la idea que yo tengo de unas vacaciones if that's your idea of fun → si eso es lo que tú entiendes por diversión 4. (= vague idea) → impresión f to have an idea that → tener la impresión de que ... I have an idea that she was going to Paris → tengo la impresión de que se iba a París 5. (= purpose) → intención f, idea f the whole idea of this trip was to relax → la única intención or idea del viaje era relajarse we went with the idea of meeting new people → fuimos con la intención or idea de conocer a gente nueva what's the big idea? → ¿a qué viene eso? 6. (= estimate) → idea f can you give me a rough idea of how many you want? → ¿puede darme una idea aproximada de cuántos quiere? idea [aɪˈdɪə] n (= notion) → idée f good idea! → bonne idée! what a good idea! → quelle bonne idée! it's a good idea to ... → c'est une bonne idée de ... an idea about sth → une idée sur qch People had some odd ideas about us → Les gens avaient de drôles d'idées sur nous. that's not my idea of fun → ce n'est pas ce que j'appelle m'amuser my idea of perfection → mon idée de la perfection the idea of doing sth → l'idée de faire qch I really like the idea of helping people → L'idée d'aider les gens me tient vraiment à cœur. the idea that ... → l'idée que ..., l'idée selon laquelle ... to have an idea that ... → avoir idée que ... (= understanding) to have a good idea of sth → avoir une bonne idée de qch He has a very good idea of how it functions → Il a une très bonne idée de la manière dont ça fonctionne. to have a clear idea of sth → avoir une idée plus claire de qch By the end of the week you will have a clear idea of what changes you should make to your diet → À la fin de la semaine, vous aurez une idée plus claire des changements que vous devrez apporter à votre régime. once you get the idea (= understand) → une fois qu'on a pris le coup It isn't too difficult once you get the idea → Ce n'est pas trop difficile une fois qu'on a pris le coup. idea n → Idee f (also Philos); (esp sudden) → Einfall m; good idea! → gute Idee!; that’s not a bad idea → das ist keine schlechte Idee; what an idea! → so eine or was für eine Idee!; who thought of that idea? → wer hat sich (dat) → denn das einfallen lassen?; whose bright idea was that? (iro) → wer hat denn diese glänzende Idee gehabt?; he’s our new ideas man (inf) → er ist hier der Mann mit den neuen Ideen; history of ideas → Geistesgeschichte f; man of ideas → Denker m; the very idea! → (nein,) so was!; the very idea of eating horse meat revolts me → der bloße Gedanke an Pferdefleisch ekelt mich; the idea never entered my head! → auf den Gedanken bin ich überhaupt nicht gekommen; he is full of (bright) ideas → ihm fehlt es nie an (guten) Ideen; to hit upon the idea of doing something → den plötzlichen Einfall haben, etw zu tun; that gives me an idea, we could … → da fällt mir ein, wir könnten …; he got the idea for his novel while he was having a bath → die Idee zu seinem Roman kam ihm in der Badewanne; to lack ideas → fantasielos or phantasielos or einfallslos sein; somehow he’s got the idea into his head that … → er bildet sich (dat) → irgendwie ein, dass …; where did you get the idea that I was ill? → wie kommst du auf den Gedanken, dass ich krank war?; don’t get ideas or don’t you go getting ideas about promotion → machen Sie sich (dat) → nur keine falschen Hoffnungen auf eine Beförderung; don’t get or go getting any ideas about that fur coat → bilde dir nur nicht ein, du würdest den Pelzmantel bekommen; to put ideas into somebody’s head → jdm einen Floh ins Ohr setzen, jdn auf dumme Gedanken bringen (= purpose) the idea was to meet at 6 → wir wollten uns um 6 treffen; what’s the idea of keeping him waiting? → was soll denn das, ihn warten zu lassen?; what’s the big idea? (inf) → was soll das denn?; the idea is to reduce expenditure → es geht darum, die Ausgaben zu senken; he sat down with the idea of writing a letter → er setzte sich mit der Absicht, einen Brief zu schreiben; that’s the idea → so ist es richtig, genau (das ists)!; you’re getting the idea → Sie verstehen langsam, worum es geht (= opinion) → Meinung f, → Ansicht f; (= conception) → Vorstellung f; if that’s your idea of fun → wenn Sie das lustig finden, wenn das Ihre Vorstellung von Spaß ist; this isn’t my idea of a holiday → so stelle ich mir den Urlaub nicht vor; he has some very strange ideas → er hat manchmal merkwürdige Vorstellungen; according to his idea → seiner Meinung or Ansicht nach; he has no idea of right and wrong → er kann zwischen Gut und Böse nicht unterscheiden; his idea of a pleasant evening is … → seine Vorstellung von einem angenehmen Abend ist … (= knowledge) → Ahnung f; you’ve no idea how worried I’ve been → du kannst dir nicht vorstellen, welche Sorgen ich mir gemacht habe; (I’ve) no idea → (ich habe) keine Ahnung; I’ve got some idea (of) what this is all about → ich weiß so ungefähr, worum es hier geht; I haven’t the least or slightest or faintest idea → ich habe nicht die leiseste or geringste Ahnung; I have an idea that … → ich habe so das Gefühl, dass …; I had no idea that … → ich hatte ja keine Ahnung, dass …; just to give me an idea of how long it will take → damit ich so ungefähr weiß, wie lange es dauert; could you give me an idea of how long …? → könnten Sie mir ungefähr sagen, wie lange …?; to give you an idea of how difficult it is → um Ihnen eine Vorstellung davon zu vermitteln, wie schwierig es ist idea [aɪˈdɪə] n → idea good idea! → buon'idea! that was a brilliant idea → è stata un'idea splendida she had no idea of the answer → non aveva idea della risposta to have an idea that ... → aver l'impressione che... I haven't the least or slightest or foggiest idea → non ne ho la minima or la più pallida idea it wouldn't be a bad idea to paint it → non sarebbe una cattiva idea verniciarlo to put ideas into sb's head → mettere delle idee in testa a qn it wasn't my idea → non è stata un'idea mia, non sono io che ho avuto l'idea if that's your idea of a joke ... → se credi di essere spiritoso... I've got the general idea → mi sono fatto un'idea that's the idea → ecco, proprio così what's the big idea? (fam) → cosa credi di fare? the idea is to sell it → si tratta di venderlo idea [aɪˈdɪə] n → idea good idea! → buon'idea! that was a brilliant idea → è stata un'idea splendida she had no idea of the answer → non aveva idea della risposta to have an idea that ... → aver l'impressione che... I haven't the least or slightest or foggiest idea → non ne ho la minima or la più pallida idea it wouldn't be a bad idea to paint it → non sarebbe una cattiva idea verniciarlo to put ideas into sb's head → mettere delle idee in testa a qn it wasn't my idea → non è stata un'idea mia, non sono io che ho avuto l'idea if that's your idea of a joke ... → se credi di essere spiritoso... I've got the general idea → mi sono fatto un'idea that's the idea → ecco, proprio così what's the big idea? (fam) → cosa credi di fare? the idea is to sell it → si tratta di venderlo n idea [aiˈdiə] 1 opinion; belief I have an idea that it won't work. idee فِكْرَه идея nápad idé die Meinung γνώμη creencia, impresión arvamus نظر ajatus idée רַעיוֹן विचार misao elképzelés gagasan hugmynd idea 考え 생각, 의견 nuomonė ideja; doma idea idee idé, tanke, forestilling przeświadczenie ideia idee мнение predstava, tušenie mnenje mišljenje uppfattning, åsikt ความคิด fikir, düşünce, görüş 意見,想法 думка, гадка تصور quan niệm; ý tưởng 意见 2 a plan I've an idea for solving this problem. idee خِطَّه план plán idé; plan die Idee ιδέα idea mõte نقشه suunnitelma idée רַעיוֹן योजना ideja terv rencana hugmynd, áætlun idea 着想 계획 mintis, idėja nodoms; plāns cadangan idee idé, plan, påfunn pomysł ideia idee идея plán, nápad ideja, načrt ideja idé แผนการ düşünce, fikir, öneri 計劃 ідея منصوبہ ý định 计划 3 mental picture This will give you an idea of what I mean. idee صورَه представа představa idé die Vorstellung ιδέα, αντίληψη idea ettekujutus پنداشت mielikuva idée מוּשָׂג दिमागी खाका predodžba fogalom gambaran hugmynd idea 概念 아이디어, 착상 supratimas priekšstats gambaran idee idé, forestilling, anelse pojęcie ideia idee представление predstava predstava ideja begrepp, föreställning มโนภาพ fikir, düşünce 概念 поняття; уявлення ذہنی خاکہ sự hình dung 概念 idea → فكرة nápad idé Idee ιδέα idea ajatus idée ideja idea 考え 생각 idee idé idea ideia, idéia идея idé ความคิด fikir ý kiến 想法 How to thank TFD for its existence? 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