chimerical

adjective

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chi·me·ri·cal | \ kī-ˈmer-i-kəl

, kə-, -ˈmir- \

variants: or less commonly chimeric \ kī-ˈmer-ik

, kə- , -ˈmir- \

Definition of chimerical

1 : existing only as the product of unchecked imagination : fantastically visionary (see visionary entry 1 sense 2) or improbable chimerical dreams of economic stability

2 : given to fantastic schemes She's a chimerical optimist infused with utopian visions.

3 usually chimeric

a : relating to, derived from, or being a genetic chimera : containing tissue with two or more genetically distinct populations of cells Chimeric mice are generated by mixing cells from two embryos, generating a mouse with four parental contributions.— Nancy L. Nadon

b : composed of material (such as DNA or polypeptide) from more than one organism He combined this gene material with safer human DNA and created what's known as a chimeric gene—a gene of antibody instructions that is part man, part mouse.— Eric Hand

Other Words from chimerical Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More About chimerical

Choose the Right Synonym for chimerical

imaginary, fanciful, visionary, fantastic, chimerical, quixotic mean unreal or unbelievable. imaginary applies to something which is fictitious and purely the product of one's imagination. an imaginary desert isle fanciful suggests the free play of the imagination. a teller of fanciful stories visionary stresses impracticality or incapability of realization. visionary schemes fantastic implies incredibility or strangeness beyond belief. a fantastic world inhabited by monsters chimerical combines the implication of visionary and fantastic. chimerical dreams of future progress quixotic implies a devotion to romantic or chivalrous ideals unrestrained by ordinary prudence and common sense. a quixotic crusade

Examples of chimerical in a Sentence

for the time being, interplanetary travel remains a chimerical feature of life in the 21st century

Recent Examples on the Web Guardiola himself had acknowledged that before the game, half in jest, suggesting that there was not a vast amount of point in conducting the usual, instinctive analysis of Real Madrid because Ancelotti’s team is, by its very nature, so chimerical. — New York Times, 26 Apr. 2022 In his eyes, though, speed is not where true value lies in a social media world, and particularly in that portion of it devoted to soccer’s chaotic, contradictory and often chimerical transfer market. — New York Times, 24 Jan. 2022 To put it in biblical terms, the line between obeying God and playing God is as blurry as that between domesticating animals for agriculture and creating chimerical creatures in laboratories. — Mark O’connell, The New York Review of Books, 22 July 2021 To put it in biblical terms, the line between obeying God and playing God is as blurry as that between domesticating animals for agriculture and creating chimerical creatures in laboratories. — Mark O’connell, The New York Review of Books, 22 July 2021 To put it in biblical terms, the line between obeying God and playing God is as blurry as that between domesticating animals for agriculture and creating chimerical creatures in laboratories. — Mark O’connell, The New York Review of Books, 22 July 2021 To put it in biblical terms, the line between obeying God and playing God is as blurry as that between domesticating animals for agriculture and creating chimerical creatures in laboratories. — Mark O’connell, The New York Review of Books, 22 July 2021 To put it in biblical terms, the line between obeying God and playing God is as blurry as that between domesticating animals for agriculture and creating chimerical creatures in laboratories. — Mark O’connell, The New York Review of Books, 22 July 2021 To put it in biblical terms, the line between obeying God and playing God is as blurry as that between domesticating animals for agriculture and creating chimerical creatures in laboratories. — Mark O’connell, The New York Review of Books, 22 July 2021 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'chimerical.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.