as in fictitious
not real and existing only in the imagination
told by the psychologist that it was perfectly normal for their child to have an imaginary friend
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Recent Examples of imaginary
And what’s a novelist but a fence, furnishing imaginary scenes with choice pieces of reality while obscuring their provenance?
—
Julian Lucas,
New Yorker,
22 June 2026
The Vision Award pays tribute to someone whose creative work has contributed to the renewal of the cinematographic imaginary.
—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
18 June 2026
Rather than centering her own celebrity, Kiyoko has spent years building a tribute to an imaginary place her followers inhabited long before the rest of the world took notice.
—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
16 June 2026
Speakers left pauses for imaginary conversational partners to respond, as if observing real turn-taking conventions.
—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for imaginary
Julian Lucas,
New Yorker,
22 June 2026
The Vision Award pays tribute to someone whose creative work has contributed to the renewal of the cinematographic imaginary.
—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
18 June 2026
Rather than centering her own celebrity, Kiyoko has spent years building a tribute to an imaginary place her followers inhabited long before the rest of the world took notice.
—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
16 June 2026
Speakers left pauses for imaginary conversational partners to respond, as if observing real turn-taking conventions.
—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for imaginary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for imaginary
Adjective
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The book traces the fictitious Yeoman family’s evolution over generations from self-sufficient homesteaders to participants in global markets.
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Hosting its usual presentation at its headquarters, located a stone’s throw from San Babila square, the brand installed video walls that broadcast a fictitious runway show created with the help of AI.
Adjective
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Aside from the fictional King Kong, who first appeared in a 1933 film atop the skyscraper, others in real life legally — and illegally — climbed the famous skyscraper.
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In honor of The Bear’s final season, Jono Pandolfi’s signature white and toasted clay dinnerware (featured in the fictional restaurant) is 15% off.
Adjective
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But a wiser course might be to emphasize a kind of counter-nostalgia, reclaiming a mythic past for the forces of tolerance and democratic generosity.
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Together, the band brings to life a mythic world of ancient heroes and villains, attracting an excited audience of headbangers and fantasy fanatics, many of whom show up in costume.
Adjective
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Wealth and social rank, once near the top of any imagined list, have slipped quietly down the rankings.
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The images and physics of the imagined world around them is added in later.
Adjective
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Peter [Merry] likes to use is that, when a caterpillar is becoming a butterfly, new ‘imaginal cells’ emerge.
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With one technique, for example—called imaginal exposure—you might be asked to visualize the process of going to the airport, boarding the plane, and experiencing a bad bout of turbulence.
Cite this Entry
“Imaginary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imaginary. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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