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3. imagine

imagine

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(well,) imagine that!

An expression of surprise, astonishment, or disbelief, especially regarding some recent revelation. Bob: "You know, if you run your washing machine at night you can save a lot of money on your electric bill." John: "Well, imagine that! I've never heard of such a thing!" Four hundred people came to see our concert tonight? Imagine that!

See also: imagine

you're imagining things

You're making things up or seeing things that are not real. You're imagining things—there's nothing going on between Bill and me.

See also: imagine, thing

Can you imagine?

Can you believe that?; Imagine that! She wore jeans to the wedding. Can you imagine? Billy was eating the houseplant! Can you imagine?

See also: can

envision someone as someone else

 and envision something as something else

to imagine or fantasize someone as someone else; to imagine or fantasize something as something else. I envision her as the next company president. We envisioned this as larger than it turned out to be.

See also: else

Fancy that!

 and Imagine that!

I am very surprised to hear that.; That is hard to imagine or believe. Mary: My father was elected president of the board. Sally: Fancy that! Sue: This computer is ten times faster than the one we had before. Jane: Imagine that! Is it easy to operate? Sue: Of course not.

See also: fancy

imagine someone or something as someone or something

to think of someone or something as another person or another type of thing. I really can't imagine you as a sailor. When I imagine John as our new president, I really worry about our future as a company.

See also: imagine

Fancy that!

exclam. Imagine that! Fancy that! There’s a piece of pie left in the fridge.

See also: fancy