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chimeras

noun

plural of chimera
as in illusions
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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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of chimeras Workers will continue with smaller tasks around the facade, including the installation of chimeras that sit on the roofline, but the heavy lifting has been completed, Walter said. — Dylan Lovan, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2026 The Animal Legal Defense Fund, an animal advocacy organization, argued that if such chimeras gained humanlike awareness, they should be treated as human research subjects. — Monika Piotrowska, The Conversation, 8 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chimeras
  1. illusions
  2. visions
  3. dreams
  4. fantasies
  5. daydreams
Noun
  • In each case, however, modern physics has shown these assumptions to be illusions.
    — Adam Frank, NPR, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Designed by Australian magician and magic consultant Adam Mada, the illusions use a fade box where contestants can be seen disappearing and reappearing on the studio monitors in real time.
    — Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of illusions
Noun
  • OpenAI, xAI and Microsoft unveil competing visions for increasingly automated, yet supposedly supervised, AI development.
    — Kaitlyn Huamani, Los Angeles Times, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Episode 4 begins with Stuart confined to a mental health facility, where he’s heavily medicated and quietly judged by a psychiatrist who believes his visions of alternate universes are all in his head.
    — Derek Lawrence, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of visions
Noun
  • Afterward, Lindsay offered a lesson to high school football players about finding a way to stay the course to fulfill your dreams.
    — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Looking to win a rubber match to keep their fledgling postseason dreams alive, the Twins turned in a lackluster performance in a 9-2 rout by the Cleveland Guardians in front of 17,676 at Target Field.
    — Dan Hayes, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of dreams
Noun
  • This is part of how Hollywood helped make the gerbil legend, shaping stars to deliver fantasies but telling lies along the way.
    — Allen Salkin, HollywoodReporter, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Within the often zany and slapstick realm of Bob’s Burgers, Tina still manages to steal the show with her singular voice, romantic fantasies, and obsessions with unicorns and boy bums.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of fantasies
Noun
  • And amidst the momentum of reverie, there’s the line ‘Blink at the light and hope to survive,’ because daydreams in a fascist state can be scary too.
    — Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 23 June 2026
  • One-touch passing, feinting and ripping hard shots into a tattered net, each is super-charged by vivid daydreams of glory on the international stage.
    — Jason Motlagh, Rolling Stone, 22 June 2026
Definition of daydreams

Browse Nearby Words

chimera
chimeras
chimerical
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Cite this Entry

“Chimeras.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chimeras. Accessed 21 Sep. 2026.

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