visualize as

visualize (someone or something) as (something)

To create an image in one's mind of someone or something being a particular thing or looking a certain way. I can't help but laugh visualizing my brother the hippie as some straight-laced police officer. Growing up, whenever my mom talked about my cousin being in the Navy Seals, I always visualized him as a literal seal wearing a military uniform.
See also: visualize
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

visualize someone or something as someone or something

to imagine or envision someone as someone or something or something as something. I can almost visualize you as the president. I visualize this room as a meeting place for everyone.
See also: visualize
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • visualize
  • visualize (someone or something) as (something)
  • chortle
  • laugh until you cry
  • split a gut
  • split a/(one's) gut
  • raise a laugh
  • raise a laugh/smile
  • get in bad
  • get in bad with
References in classic literature
So now, you see, we begin to visualize a large book printed in double columns which are each of a considerable length, since one of the words is numbered in the document as the two hundred and ninety-third.
The Valley of Fear
What they prayed about, they visualize as a family.
Another way to visualize a stormy day
"It allows the client to visualize as many materials, technologies and applications as possible, without having to expend time touring different sites.
Libman Wolf Couples: specializing in synergy, responsibility and accountability
Here we visualize as described above, supposing the curve to be upside down, with <b, f(b)> to the left of <a, f(a)>.
If the curve of f is smooth and monotonic in a neighbourhood of p, we can visualize a straight rigid rod rolling over the curve in that region, so that at each moment the rod touches exactly one point of the curve.
Now visualize a segment of the curve as it undergoes any one of these changes.
Though the curve of this function changes direction sharply, if we visualize a straight rigid rod rolling over the curve we can visualize it assuming a whole range of gradients (including the horizontal) when its point of contact is the sharp peak of the curve.
Epistemology of visual thinking in elementary real analysis