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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of imaginary
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
These imaginary birds are carefully defined so that the originally one-way interactions can be rewritten as ordinary two-way interactions between real and auxiliary partners.
—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
14 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for 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
These imaginary birds are carefully defined so that the originally one-way interactions can be rewritten as ordinary two-way interactions between real and auxiliary partners.
—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
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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Not to be outdone, Nintendo released a console of their own, the GameCube, which was a little underappreciated in its heyday, but has reached almost mythical status with the passage of time.
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Since her tragic death at age 36 in 1997, the almost mythical lure of her jewels has only grown.
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 5 Jul. 2026.
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