ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Imaginary

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /ɪˈmæd͡ʒɪnəɹi/ · Part of speech adjective

Quick meaning: Imaginary is an adjective meaning Existing only in the imagination.

Meaning

Existing only in the imagination.

More Meanings

  1. (mathematics, of a number)
  2. Imagination; fancy.
  3. (mathematics, countable) An imaginary number.
  4. (sociology) The set of values, institutions, laws, and symbols common to a particular social group and the corresponding society through which people imagine their social whole.

Example Sentences

imaginary friend
Unicorns are imaginary.
Wilt thou add to all the griefs I suffer / Imaginary ills and fancied tortures?
By then too Mozart's opera, from Da Ponte's libretto, had made Figaro a stock character in the European imaginary and set the whole Continent whistling Mozartian airs and chuckling at Figaresque humour.

Word Forms

Synonyms for imaginary

Depending on context, synonyms include fanciful, unreal, notional, imagined.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include imagined, notional, fanciful, unreal, fantasy, imagination.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.