English Meaning & Definitions
Used to express surprise, astonishment, or, more frequently, ironic lack of surprise at a situation.
- “He forgot his keys again? Imagine that.”
- “They offered us a pay cut and called it an opportunity—imagine that.”
English Synonyms & Near Equivalents
English Antonyms & Opposites
Comprehensive Thesaurus Breakdown
Compare formal, informal, literary synonyms and register nuances for “imagine that”.
Derived from the imperative verb 'imagine' (from Latin 'imaginari', meaning to picture to oneself) combined with the demonstrative pronoun 'that'. It evolved as a colloquial conversational formula expressing feigned or genuine surprise, irony, or unsurprised confirmation at a statement or situation.
Picture something unbelievable in your mind, then say 'imagine that!' to express surprise or gentle sarcasm.
Frequently Asked Questions About “imagine that”
1. What is the meaning of “imagine that” in English?
In English, imagine that (idiom) is defined as: “Used to express surprise, astonishment, or, more frequently, ironic lack of surprise at a situation.”.
2. How do you use “imagine that” in a sentence?
“He forgot his keys again? Imagine that.”
3. What are English synonyms of “imagine that”?
4. What is the etymology and word origin of “imagine that”?
Derived from the imperative verb 'imagine' (from Latin 'imaginari', meaning to picture to oneself) combined with the demonstrative pronoun 'that'. It evolved as a colloquial conversational formula expressing feigned or genuine surprise, irony, or unsurprised confirmation at a statement or situation.
🇬🇧More English Words to English
View all English words →The base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), equal to the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom.
A specific duration of time equal to one hour and forty-six minutes and twelve seconds.
The cardinal number equal to one thousand million (1,000,000,000), expressed in scientific notation as 10^9.
A specific duration of time equivalent to one hour and forty-six minutes.