MYTHICAL Synonyms: 90 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'mythical' distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of mythical are apocryphal , fabulous , fictitious , and legendary . While all these words mean "having the nature of something imagined or invented," mythical implies a purely fanciful explanation of facts or the creation of beings and events out of the imagination. // mythical creatures

Q: When is 'apocryphal' a more appropriate choice than 'mythical'?

In some situations, the words apocryphal and mythical are roughly equivalent. However, apocryphal implies an unknown or dubious source or origin or may imply that the thing itself is dubious or inaccurate. // a book that repeats many apocryphal stories

Q: In what contexts can 'fabulous' take the place of 'mythical'?

While in some cases nearly identical to mythical , fabulous stresses the marvelous or incredible character of something without necessarily implying impossibility or actual nonexistence. // a land of fabulous riches

Q: When might 'fictitious' be a better fit than 'mythical'?

While the synonyms fictitious and mythical are close in meaning, fictitious implies fabrication and suggests artificiality or contrivance more than deliberate falsification or deception. // fictitious characters

Q: When can 'legendary' be used instead of 'mythical'?

The words legendary and mythical can be used in similar contexts, but legendary suggests the elaboration of invented details and distortion of historical facts produced by popular tradition. // the legendary exploits of Davy Crockett

mythical

adjective

ˈmi-thi-kəl

variants or mythic

Definition of mythical

as in legendary

based on, described in, or being a myth for years the Spanish conquistadors searched for the mythical El Dorado, a place of unimaginable riches

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in imaginary

not real and existing only in the imagination the mythical unicorn

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word mythical distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of mythical are apocryphal, fabulous, fictitious, and legendary. While all these words mean "having the nature of something imagined or invented," mythical implies a purely fanciful explanation of facts or the creation of beings and events out of the imagination.

mythical creatures

When is apocryphal a more appropriate choice than mythical?

In some situations, the words apocryphal and mythical are roughly equivalent. However, apocryphal implies an unknown or dubious source or origin or may imply that the thing itself is dubious or inaccurate.

a book that repeats many apocryphal stories

In what contexts can fabulous take the place of mythical?

While in some cases nearly identical to mythical, fabulous stresses the marvelous or incredible character of something without necessarily implying impossibility or actual nonexistence.

a land of fabulous riches

When might fictitious be a better fit than mythical?

While the synonyms fictitious and mythical are close in meaning, fictitious implies fabrication and suggests artificiality or contrivance more than deliberate falsification or deception.

fictitious characters

When can legendary be used instead of mythical?

The words legendary and mythical can be used in similar contexts, but legendary suggests the elaboration of invented details and distortion of historical facts produced by popular tradition.

the legendary exploits of Davy Crockett

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 mythical Waller is one of the NFL’s few mythical figures — one whose story precedes his stats, whose name supersedes his acclaim. — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 15 Oct. 2026 The realization led her to investigate which other Kazakh mythical figures might be misunderstood. — Yulia Denisyuk, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Oct. 2026 Jérôme Mage is a mythical man who lives in a mythological house. — Elise Taylor, Vanity Fair, 13 Oct. 2026 The mythical image of the chivalrous mobster offered a way to ease the humiliating memory of losing the war and carried a nationalist charge, exploited in movies set amid black markets, rapacious Americans, and panpan girls. — Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for mythical

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mythical

Adjective

In a new memoir, the legendary reporter names a parade of confidential sources who enabled monumental scoops in The Washington Post and his blockbuster books.

— Craig Whitlock, Washington Post, 26 Oct. 2026
Marathon is also the next game from Bungie, the makers of the legendary shooters Halo and Destiny (two franchises that, ironically, the COD publisher Activision has its tendrils in).

— Jordan Minor, PC Magazine, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of legendary

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

Adjective

This weekend is also Howard University’s Homecoming, an event that transcends campus with free concerts, including the fabled Yardfest, and plenty of unofficial parties around the city.

— Adele Chapin, Washington Post, 15 Oct. 2026
Then, in 1882, by which time the culture of the European Grand Tour amongst wealthy British and North American youth of rank had peaked, the convent finally transmogrified into a hotel (like other convents along this fabled coast).

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of fabled

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

Adjective

This Lincolnian view of the war—that the United States was perpetual and that the Confederate States of America was a fictitious, farcical nation—has led to various historical interpretations ever since, among historians and laypeople alike.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 19 Oct. 2026
The series will be set in a fictitious Barneys in Beverly Hills, not New York, and the real founding family of the retailer, the Pressman family, has no involvement, the spokesperson said.

— Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of fictitious

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

Definition of imagined

Adjective

Peter [Merry] likes to use is that, when a caterpillar is becoming a butterfly, new ‘imaginal cells’ emerge.

— Big Think, Big Think, 7 Aug. 2025
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.

— Angela Haupt, TIME, 10 May 2024

Definition of imaginal

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mythical

mythoi

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

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Synonyms of mythical

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