variants
also chimeric
as in imaginary
not real and existing only in the imagination
for the time being, interplanetary travel remains a chimerical feature of life in the 21st century
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of chimerical
Projections of economic gains from major sporting events are typically optimistic, euphoric, chimerical or conjectural.
—
Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2025
Meanwhile, Kilgore, his dream of fame approaching, also sees its chimerical agonies.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 14 Feb. 2025
This trial, funded by the National Cancer Institute, uses chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells that are injected directly into the dog's lymph nodes.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 31 Jan. 2025
The reprogrammed cells were injected into a mouse embryo, resulting in a chimeric mouse with physical traits derived from both the donor embryo and the reprogrammed stem cells.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for chimerical
Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2025
Meanwhile, Kilgore, his dream of fame approaching, also sees its chimerical agonies.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 14 Feb. 2025
This trial, funded by the National Cancer Institute, uses chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells that are injected directly into the dog's lymph nodes.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 31 Jan. 2025
The reprogrammed cells were injected into a mouse embryo, resulting in a chimeric mouse with physical traits derived from both the donor embryo and the reprogrammed stem cells.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for chimerical
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chimerical
Adjective
-
Your brain treats heartbreak like a physical injury That crushing feeling in your chest isn’t imaginary.—
Kyra Dahring,
CNN Money,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Lugers tilt to an imaginary track.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Who wants to sit through a fictitious novelist’s clumsy drafts?—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
-
The committee requested that information after a congressional watchdog found last December that the enhanced premium tax credits were vulnerable to fraud, with auditors successfully obtaining subsidized coverage for multiple ‘fictitious’ applicants.—
Sophie Brams,
The Hill,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Today’s longevity-medicine movement is driven by the same aggressive desire for eternal youth as the mythic stories of old.—
Will Gottsegen,
The Atlantic,
20 Feb. 2026
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Rarely do these pieces directly echo the two men’s interpersonal drama, but the information adds context to the actors’ enchanting movements, which are backed by gorgeous outfits and striking set design that accentuate the mythical tales being played out.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Terms & Conditions interweaves fictional and historical characters in an immersive story that spans 247 years across land and sea.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
20 Feb. 2026
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Lawrence, who serves as executive producer on the new incarnation, can also see a parallel between his path and that of his fictional creations.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Both are beatless, widescreen, and almost formless, little soundtracks to an imagined world in bloom.—
Alex Robert Ross,
Pitchfork,
13 Feb. 2026
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They’d been drawn by the pay, but also by a sense of altruism and imagined kinship.—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Peter [Merry] likes to use is that, when a caterpillar is becoming a butterfly, new ‘imaginal cells’ emerge.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
7 Aug. 2025
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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
Cite this Entry
“Chimerical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chimerical. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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