mythical

adjective myth·i·cal \ ˈmi-thi-kəl \

variants: or mythic play \-thik\

Updated on: 28 Feb 2018

Definition of mythical

1 : based on or described in a myth especially as contrasted with history

2 usually mythical : existing only in the imagination : fictitious, imaginary

constructed a mythical all-star team

3 usually mythic : having qualities suitable to myth : legendary

the twilight of a mythic professional career
—Clayton Riley

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mythically

play \-thi-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

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Examples of mythical in a Sentence

Hercules was a mythical hero who was half man and half god.
gods fighting in a mythical battle in the sky
The sportswriters picked a mythical all-star team.
The benefits of the new policy proved to be mythical.

Recent Examples of mythical from the Web

But the lava tunnels of the moon, like the mythical canals of Mars, proved elusive.

— avi selk, Washington Post, "A newly discovered moon tunnel could be the perfect place for a colony, scientists say," 21 Oct. 2017
Fantastic story of Boom, son of Thunder, is mythical adventure about discovering one's inner strength.

— rasputin todd, Cincinnati.com, "Things to do this week: Oct. 16-22," 16 Oct. 2017
That path will bring the moon near the bright orange star Aldebaran, which marks the eye of the mythical bull.

— National Geographic, "Uranus at Its Best, and More Can't-Miss Sky Events in October," 1 Oct. 2017
Yup! There's already unicorn poop and unicorn tears, so of course unicorn blood would be the next step in the mythical food craze.

— danielle tullo, Cosmopolitan, "Unicorn Blood Mozzarella Sticks Are Here, and OMG," 11 Sep. 2017
Typically, rainbow highlighters tend to be synonymous with unicorns, mermaids and fairy dust — all matter of pretty mythical creatures, really.

— macaela mackenzie, Allure, "This Goth Black Rainbow Highlighter Is For all Those Anti-Unicorns Out There," 2 Nov. 2017
Now that Tesla is slowly fulfilling orders for its mythical Model 3, car enthusiasts are clamoring for more information.

— cleveland.com, "The Tesla Model 3: Everything we know so far (NerdWallet)," 30 Oct. 2017
Zoo animals and mythical beasts were added to the rides, as was the ability to go up and down as well as in a circle.

— kat eschner, Smithsonian, "The Dizzy History of Carousels Begins With Knights," 25 July 2017
And the stories are a mixture of the mythical, the historical, and anecdotal contemporary news.

— kenneth brower, National Geographic, "What’s in a Name at Yosemite?," 25 Jan. 2016

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

Origin and Etymology of mythical

mythical from Late Latin mȳthicus "of myth, legendary" (borrowed from Greek mȳthikós, from mŷthos "utterance, tale, myth" + -ikos ¹-ic) + ¹-al; mythic borrowed from Late Latin mȳthicus

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1610

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

mythical Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of mythical

fictitious, fabulous, legendary, mythical, apocryphal mean having the nature of something imagined or invented. fictitious implies fabrication and suggests artificiality or contrivance more than deliberate falsification or deception.