idea

idea, concept, conception, thought, notion, impression mean what exists in the mind as a representation (as of something comprehended) or as a formulation (as of a plan). idea may apply to a mental image or formulation of something seen or known or imagined, to a pure abstraction, or to something assumed or vaguely sensed <innovative ideas> <my idea of paradise>. concept may apply to the idea formed by consideration of instances of a species or genus or, more broadly, to any idea of what a thing ought to be <a society with no concept of private property>. conception is often interchangeable with concept ; it may stress the process of imagining or formulating rather than the result <our changing conception of what constitutes art>. thought is likely to suggest the result of reflecting, reasoning, or meditating rather than of imagining <commit your thoughts to paper>. notion suggests an idea not much resolved by analysis or reflection and may suggest the capricious or accidental <you have the oddest notions>. impression applies to an idea or notion resulting immediately from some stimulation of the senses <the first impression is of soaring height>.