[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/notion/)

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# notion

noun (notion, notions)

«notion» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. An idea or belief about something, often a vague or mistaken one: «I had a notion that school started at nine». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/notion/#m1)
2. A sudden wish or impulse to do something: «She took a notion to paint her room purple». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/notion/#m2)
3. (US) Notions: small sewing items like buttons, pins and thread. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/notion/#m3)
4. (maths/science, formal) A basic idea or concept: the notion of a number. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/notion/#m4)
5. To have no notion of doing something means not to want to do it, or not to think of doing it at all. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/notion/#m5)

### In the lessons

In stories it shows a character's thinking: «He had no notion where he was». In school: «the notion of fairness», «the notion of infinity». Phrases: «have no notion», «the notion that», «take a notion» (Ireland, Scotland, US), «a silly notion».

### Examples

- I had a notion that the shop was closed on Sundays. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/notion/#x1)
- She hadn't the faintest notion what to do. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/notion/#x2)
- Where did you get the silly notion that carrots let you see in the dark? [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/notion/#x3)
- The notion of fairness is important in our class rules. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/notion/#x4)
- Gran took a notion to go swimming in the sea. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/notion/#x5)
- In maths, the notion of zero took people a long time to invent. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/notion/#x6)
- The sewing shop sells buttons, ribbons and other notions. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/notion/#x7)

### Note

Countable: a notion, notions. Close to «idea», but often vaguer or slightly doubtful. «Have no notion» = have no idea. A «notional» number is one that is imagined or estimated, not real.

## In Jewish tradition

In stories it shows a character's thinking: «He had no notion where he was». In school: «the notion of fairness», «the notion of infinity». Phrases: «have no notion», «the notion that», «take a notion» (Ireland, Scotland, US), «a silly notion».

### Examples

- All the other commentaries mentioned above, together with all quotations of other expounders of the same book, contain nothing but a medley of arbitrary, mystical explanations and sophistical distortions of scriptural verses, astrological notions, oriental (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/N/notion/#x1)

### Note

Countable: a notion, notions. Close to «idea», but often vaguer or slightly doubtful. «Have no notion» = have no idea. A «notional» number is one that is imagined or estimated, not real.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «notion» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/notion/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«notion» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/notion.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of «notion» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/N/notion/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«notion» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/judaism/w/notion.html) on Mova free.