IMAGINED Synonyms: 158 Similar and Opposite Words

imagined 1 of 2

adjective

as in imaginary

not real and existing only in the imagination got needlessly upset about imagined dangers

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

imagined

2 of 2

verb

past tense of imagine

as in envisioned

to form a mental picture of she was determined to have the wedding that she had always imagined

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in thought

to have as an opinion I imagine that's true, but you still have to prove it

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in guessed

to form an opinion from little or no evidence I imagine things will change rapidly once we begin

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of imagined

Adjective

The second scenario in the speculative design research is built around an imagined service called Paren’t, which proposes to preserve a parent’s AI-powered postmortem presence for their child. — Lissa Soep, Vox, 17 Oct. 2026 Drawn to the tactile and familiar qualities of paper, Teo uses playful forms and visual metaphors to transform everyday subjects and construct whimsical, imagined worlds. — New York Times Games, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026 The production was full of nostalgia for an imagined past when the small screen was more ascendant and apolitical, with tributes to Charlie’s Angels and Dolly Parton shirking any embrace of the form’s progressive history. — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2026 The summer before, so many Black men and Black children and Black women had been murdered for the most meager of real or imagined offenses. — Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2026 Recipe development can be a self-effacing task, obliging the writer to anticipate the appetites and routines of her imagined reader. — Hannah Goldfield, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026 Johnson plays Monroe at the height of her fame while Burstyn stars as an imagined version of Monroe later in life. — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2026 And this year’s menu reflects some through-the-years favorites, including some that have been re-imagined. — Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Aug. 2026 The thing is, whale songs are not necessarily about death, but about loss of identity — as an imagined mother, as a person with hopes for what life may hold. — Caroline Cherston, STAT, 25 Aug. 2026

Verb

Cher’s iconic yellow plaid outfit evoked Kim’s Catholic school girl uniform as imagined by Donatella Versace. — Jonathan Van Meter, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2026 People such as Sarah Burns, the mother of a Camas runner who walked off the start line in protest last week, never imagined herself playing the role of activist when the cross country season began. — Matt Calkins Outkick, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026 In the years after, developers and officials imagined different futures for the site, like putting Garden City’s downtown at Expo Idaho, according to previous Statesman reporting. — Idaho Statesman, 23 Oct. 2026 Brown had imagined a future following an uncle who played professionally, making it to the NFL and providing for his family. — Bella Armstrong, Miami Herald, 21 Oct. 2026 As Cathy transitions into Madame Kate and embraces her newfound power and wealth, Thorisdottir imagined Kate would also be dabbling in the newly purchasable makeup of the early 1900s. — Katie Gunderman, Allure, 21 Oct. 2026 In 1999, Glück imagined a creation story of sorts, describing small worlds that appeared in the fissures of a larger, shattered one. — Hannah Goldfield, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026 The sense that a resume goes straight into a black box isn’t imagined – applications per job have more than doubled since 2022, and the average company now has 56% fewer recruiters to review them. — Owen Humphries, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026 Diego ended up being far more involved in the delivery than either of them ever imagined. — Robbie Owens, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for imagined

Adjective

The book used an imaginary dialogue between two women to explain the principles of economics, collecting the ideas of the new science together in a way that had never before been attempted.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026
Bill Irwin isn’t going anywhere — knock on all available wood — except quickly to the imaginary bathroom just off stage right several times a night as his character’s regimen of enemas kicks in.

— Sara Holdren, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of imaginary

Verb

Last night was the second Victoria's Secret Fashion Show as envisioned by CEO Hillary Super and her chief creative officer Adam Selman.

— Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 19 Oct. 2026
Preparations are also advancing for expansion into a third regional department, where several hundred personnel are envisioned to operate.

— Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of envisioned

Verb

Chris Costagli, a vice president and food thought leader at NielsenIQ, said high gas prices have worsened Americans’ concerns about affordability, and that's dampening demand for Halloween treats.

— ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
Primetime director Lance Oppenheim thought of Lipnicki for his latest role while rewatching Jerry Maguire as a reference point for the new movie.

— Mike Miller, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Oct. 2026

Definition of thought

Verb

That Bell was the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes was still known to only a handful of people, including Robert Louis Stevenson, who had by then guessed the truth.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2026
To keep potentially sensitive information from being accessible to unintended people, the URLs typically contain a long sequence of text that can’t be easily guessed.

— Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of guessed

Adjective

The novel was also partly epistolary, including segments of fictional court transcripts and news coverage created by King (who enjoyed mimicking different writing styles).

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 21 Oct. 2026
The film—based on the 2014 play Switzerland by Joanna Murray-Smith—sets a fictional scene in the final chapter of Highsmith’s life.

— Alex Jhamb Burns, Vogue, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of fictional

Verb

Four save slots per game and a rewind function introduce a few conveniences that players in 1983 could only have dreamed about.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 20 Oct. 2026
Having once dreamed a modern India would be able to move past divisions of religion and caste, Jinnah became disillusioned.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of dreamed

Verb

The court filing alleges that social media users believed that the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders actually made appearances at the My Chemical Romance concert, and that the circulation of videos was not accidental.

— Maven Navarro, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Oct. 2026
Traditional pan-frying took too long for travelers who wanted a quick meal, while Sanders believed deep-frying compromised the chicken’s quality.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of believed

Verb

Each has assumed a new place of influence within the Democratic Party over the last two years, filling a power vacuum created by President Joe Biden’s exit from the political stage.

— David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 28 Oct. 2026
Notably, Republican voters’ approval of Congress has dropped from 53% shortly after the GOP assumed control of Washington to 29% today.

— Morgan Chalfant, semafor.com, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of assumed

Browse Nearby Words

imagine

imagined

imagines

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Imagined.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imagined. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of imagined

adjective

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

grotesque

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes