idea

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. thought, concept, notion; opinion, conceit, belief, impression; principle; invention, imagination.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [Something one thinks or knows]

Syn. concept, conception, thought, notion, impression, inkling, construct; see also opinion 1 , thought 2 .

2. [A conviction]

Syn. opinion, view, doctrine, conception; see belief 1 , faith 2 .

3. [A plan]

Syn. intention, design, scheme, approach; see plan 2 , purpose 1 .

4. [Fancy]

Syn. whimsy, whim, fantasy; see fancy 3 .

5. [Meaning]

Syn. sense, import, purport; see meaning .

Syn.- idea , the most general of these terms, may be applied to anything existing in the mind as an object of knowledge or thought; concept refers to a generalized idea of a class of objects, based on knowledge of particular instances of the class [ his concept of a republic ] ; conception , often equivalent to concept , specifically refers to something conceived in the mind, or imagined [ my conception of how the role should be played ] ; thought is used of any idea, whether or not expressed, that occurs to the mind in reasoning or contemplation [ she rarely speaks her thoughts] ; notion suggests a vague thought or one not fully considered [ I had a notion to go ] ; impression also implies vagueness of an idea provoked by some external stimulus [ I have the impression that she's unhappy ]

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) n.

thought, notion, concept, view, plan, design, inkling, scheme, theory, insight, belief, understanding, *brainstorm, inspiration.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) noun 1. That which exists in the mind as the product of careful mental activity: concept, conception, image, notion, perception, thought. See THOUGHTS. 2. Something believed or accepted as true by a person: belief, conviction, feeling, mind, notion, opinion, persuasion, position, sentiment, view. See OPINION. 3. Intuitive cognition: feeling, hunch, impression, intuition, suspicion. See THOUGHTS. 4. A method for making, doing, or accomplishing something: blueprint, design, game plan, layout, plan, project, schema, scheme, strategy. See PLANNED. 5. The gist of a specific action or situation: import, meaning, point, purport, significance, significancy. See MEANING.