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   I·de·a

   /īˈdēə/

   

   noun

   • 1. a thought or suggestion as to a possible course of action: "the idea of linking pay to performance has caught on" Similar plandesignschemeprojectproposalpropositionsuggestionrecommendationaimintentionobjectiveobjectpurposeendgoaltarget
   • ▪ a concept or mental impression: "our menu list will give you some idea of how interesting a low-fat diet can be" Similar conceptnotionconceptionconceptualizationthoughtimagemental picturevisualizationabstractionperceptionhypothesispostulation
   • ▪ an opinion or belief: "nineteenth-century ideas about drinking" Similar thoughttheoryviewviewpointopinionfeelingoutlookbeliefjudgmentconclusion
   • 2. the aim or purpose: "I took a job with the idea of getting some money together" Similar purposepointaimobjectobjectivegoalintentionendend in viewdesignreasonuseutilitysensemotivevalueadvantage
   • 3. (in Platonic thought) an eternally existing pattern of which individual things in any class are imperfect copies.
   • ▪ (in Kantian thought) a concept of pure reason, not empirically based in experience.

   Word Origin late Middle English (in idea (sense 3)): via Latin from Greek idea ‘form, pattern’, from the base of idein ‘to see’.

   Scrabble Points: 5

   • I

     1

   • D

     2

   • E

     1

   • A

     1

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