Envisage

Word play: envisaged or envisioned?

Posted: 28th May 2014


What can of worms have I opened with use of ‘envisaged’ versus ‘envision’ I wonder? Probably a debate over whether it’s best to UK English or American English!

That’s because ‘envisage’ and ‘envision’ technically mean the same thing: to visualise something or make a mental picture of it. A future possibility if you will.

Your choice between these two transitive verbs depends largely on whether you prefer the UK English ‘envisage’ to the American ‘envision’ – or whether to have a preference would be frowned upon (for example, do you work in America, or are you writing a piece for an English university?).

The danger with either word is that they should not be used in place of ‘expect’, to which they are closely related. ‘Expect’ can be used in a context where you are more certain of the outcome (ie, ‘the government is expected to report a lowering of interest rates’).