as in illusion
a conception or image created by the imagination and having no objective reality
a monster in the closet would not have been the first chimera that the boy had seen in his mind's eye
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Recent Examples of chimera
The chimera of a two-state solution still has widespread backing within Washington’s traditional foreign policy establishment.
—
Ray Takeyh, Foreign Affairs, 4 Dec. 2025
The standard choices presented to us—reason versus superstition, progress versus barbarism, past versus future, space versus Earth, growth versus stasis—were always chimeras.
—Paul Kingsnorth, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Trump’s yearning after a Nobel Peace Prize is no secret—Israel, Pakistan, and Cambodia have nominated him so far—and Lee may use that chimera to keep Trump onside.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 17 Sep. 2025
Money savvy players might choose to horde their wealth and splurge on a powerful gun for the final boss round, in which the team must work together to bring down the likes of beastly chimeras that dig underground and towering mutants who perform whirlwind moves.
—Griff Griffin, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for chimera
Ray Takeyh, Foreign Affairs, 4 Dec. 2025
The standard choices presented to us—reason versus superstition, progress versus barbarism, past versus future, space versus Earth, growth versus stasis—were always chimeras.
—Paul Kingsnorth, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Trump’s yearning after a Nobel Peace Prize is no secret—Israel, Pakistan, and Cambodia have nominated him so far—and Lee may use that chimera to keep Trump onside.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 17 Sep. 2025
Money savvy players might choose to horde their wealth and splurge on a powerful gun for the final boss round, in which the team must work together to bring down the likes of beastly chimeras that dig underground and towering mutants who perform whirlwind moves.
—Griff Griffin, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for chimera
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chimera
Noun
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Desperate customers were calling multiple brokers at once, creating the illusion of demand spikes that sent truck owners scrambling to raise prices, Biswas said.—
Kelsey Warner,
semafor.com,
8 Apr. 2026
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The converted car, filled with seats and fast-moving images LED screens, doesn’t go anywhere but gives you the illusion of traveling through agave fields.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The dreams that Rice and Jaquez had about bringing an NCAA championship to a program that hadn’t won one required the right pieces, and Betts was the missing ingredient.—
Sabreena Merchant,
New York Times,
6 Apr. 2026
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Some of her theories apparently came to her in vivid dreams.—
Antonia Hitchens,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Inspired by the Coachella headliner herself, the stop is a Sabrina fantasy land, with sparkly vintage cars, slushie concoctions and much more.—
Skyler Caruso,
PEOPLE,
10 Apr. 2026
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The president is tweeting about his genocidal fantasies in Iran.—
Anne Bryson,
CBS News,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The family car is a Mazda, but Zac daydreams of a Bugatti Veyron.—
Frank Langfitt,
NPR,
4 Apr. 2026
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More than masturbatory daydreams, Vladimir inspires our heroine to write with abandon, ignoring professional and personal obligations in service to her muse.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Honesty makes big visions real and doable.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
9 Apr. 2026
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With Iran qualifying for the World Cup, Arad Ershad had visions of splurging on flights and tickets to attend one of the team’s upcoming first-round matches in Los Angeles.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Chimera.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chimera. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
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