1
as in graphical
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 mythic
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
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
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
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This story contains graphic descriptions that some readers may find disturbing.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
13 June 2025
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Working with a crack team of technology editors, graphic designers and social media experts, Clint crafts thought leadership content around Dell Technologies’ APEX as-a-Service portfolio.—
Clint Boulton,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2025
Adjective
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Several heads of industry have toyed with creating an imaginary staff, embracing the self-mirroring feedback loop of their output as a plus.—
Sheldon Pearce,
NPR,
17 June 2025
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Answer: Minnesota Who was Riley’s childhood imaginary friend?—
Kara Nesvig,
Parents,
17 June 2025
Adjective
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Ember, a clean-energy think tank, put together this great visual interactive showing how this happens.—
Umair Irfan,
Wired News,
21 June 2025
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In a more recent industry-paradigm shift, firms are prioritizing the ecological consequences of their work, the history of a place, and the visual effect that renovating a structure will have on an area.—
Rachel Gallaher,
Robb Report,
21 June 2025
Adjective
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Even with the security, though, collectors and fans are able to get up close to items that may have previously seemed mythical.—
Larry Holder,
New York Times,
21 June 2025
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The electric Nebraska has become a mythical object for Springsteen fans over the years, and there’s been a lot of evidence suggesting the tapes do exist.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
19 June 2025
Adjective
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The exhibition path follows a typological order, bringing together more than 600 photographic works by 25 artists that recount over a century of German photography.—
Andrea Onate,
Footwear News,
20 June 2025
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The university itself doesn’t have a lot of photographic evidence of this man.—
Nina Metz,
Chicago Tribune,
15 June 2025
Adjective
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In the film, a massive great white shark hunts people swimming in the water surrounding the fictitious Amity Island.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
13 June 2025
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Ever since Max began streaming the drama about life in a fictitious Pittsburgh emergency room, it’s been one pinch-me moment after another for Wyle and his fellow executive producers John Wells and R. Scott Gemmill.—
Lynette Rice,
Deadline,
12 June 2025
Adjective
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Image Sherald’s vertical portraits, by contrast, retain their pictorial charisma despite a certain repetitiveness.—
Deborah Solomon,
New York Times,
15 May 2025
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The Filipino filmmaker delivers a pictorial fresco of the 16th century, at once a sensory immersion and an uncompromising political perspective on colonial violence.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
9 May 2025
Adjective
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The Hollywood Reporter can reveal that, under the multiyear deal, IMG Licensing will develop and manage a robust licensing program spanning Maas’s entire fictional universe with the aim of creating new touchpoints for her fervid fan base.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
23 June 2025
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In experiments set up to leave AI models few options and stress-test alignment, top systems from OpenAI, Google, and others frequently resorted to blackmail—and in an extreme case, even allowed fictional deaths—to protect their interests.—
Beatrice Nolan,
Fortune,
23 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Imaginal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imaginal. Accessed 27 Jun. 2025.
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