1
as in graphic
consisting of or relating to pictures
after a desensitizing series of imaginal exposures to the feared object, the phobic person is then exposed to the actual object
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in imaginary
not real and existing only in the imagination
the equator is merely an imaginal line
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of imaginal
Peter [Merry] likes to use is that, when a caterpillar is becoming a butterfly, new ‘imaginal cells’ emerge.
—
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
Mercury entering into Pisces turns up the imaginal juice.
—USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024
Then, from bundles of cells known as imaginal disks, a new body takes form.
—Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2023
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
Mercury entering into Pisces turns up the imaginal juice.
—USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024
Then, from bundles of cells known as imaginal disks, a new body takes form.
—Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for imaginal
Adjective
-
Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
11 Feb. 2026
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The arrival of the ATM famously led to the employment of more bank tellers, just as the introduction of Excel swelled the ranks of accountants and Photoshop spiked demand for graphic designers.—
Josh Tyrangiel,
The Atlantic,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Your brain treats heartbreak like a physical injury That crushing feeling in your chest isn’t imaginary.—
Kyra Dahring,
CNN Money,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Lugers tilt to an imaginary track.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Changing a belt or styling it in an out-of-the-box way can also add visual interest to your waistline.—
Jennifer Prince,
Southern Living,
8 Feb. 2026
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Every week, The Sacramento Bee’s visual journalists capture the moments — big and small — that tell the story of our community.—
Nathaniel Levine,
Sacbee.com,
8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The series follows a teenage boy who forms an unlikely alliance with the Fairy Queen of Celtic lore to search for malevolent mythical creatures from around the world, among them the Yeti, Baba Yaga and a Lady Dracula — not to destroy them, but to save them from impending doom.—
Ed Meza,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
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Jones portrays the fierce warrior Prince Vlad of Wallachia, who goes on to become the mythical Dracula.—
Hanna Wickes,
Kansas City Star,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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While anticipated, this past week’s layoffs were deeper than anticipated, resulting in the shutting down of the Post’s renowned sports section, sharp cutbacks in foreign and metro coverage, and the laying off of its photographic staff.—
David Bauder,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Feb. 2026
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John Heartfield, the pseudonym of German artist Helmut Herzfeld, was a leading photographic satirist who was fiercely opposed to Hitler and his Nazi party.—
Lianne Kolirin,
CNN Money,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The difference between documentary approaches and fictional approaches to a musical figure — at heart, there’s no difference at all.—
Daniel D'Addario,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
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But in a first for Marvel, Abdul-Mateen II was not there as himself, but rather in character as Simon Williams to discuss the fictional Wonder Man movie that is central to season one of the Disney+ show.—
Aaron Couch,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Rather than allowing its typical lightness, Benning layers their brushstrokes purposefully so as to establish new kinds of relationships, both pictorial and material.—
Alex Bacon,
Artforum,
10 Feb. 2026
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Crawford famously posed for Playboy back in 1988, appearing in a black-and-white pictorial shot by Herb Ritts.—
Hannah Malach,
InStyle,
23 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Comulate also invented a fictitious insurance agent named Jordan Bates, who purported to work for PBC and who interacted with Applied Systems salespeople through email (with a Phoenix Benefits email domain) to create a customer account on Applied’s Epic.—
John Hyatt,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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In a comparable case in the United States in 2023, a federal judge imposed $5,000 fines on two lawyers and a law firm after ChatGPT was blamed for their submission of fictitious legal research in an aviation injury claim.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Imaginal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imaginal. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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