1
as in graphic
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 imaginary
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
Peter [Merry] likes to use is that, when a caterpillar is becoming a butterfly, new ‘imaginal cells’ emerge.
—
Big Think, 7 Aug. 2025
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
Big Think, 7 Aug. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for imaginal
Adjective
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Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium.—
Penny Weaver,
Arkansas Online,
18 Mar. 2026
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And despite the metro area’s high cost of living, San Francisco still attracts a variety of residents, including everyone from students to tech whizzes to scores of graphic designers.—
Amelia Mularz,
Architectural Digest,
17 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Draw an imaginary line between the two and follow it out into space for roughly the same distance again.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
14 Mar. 2026
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What better way to cap our season-long coverage of a conference that doesn’t exist than to hand out imaginary awards?—
Jon Wilner,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The data in question includes information on joint movements, speed, rotation, visual input, touch, pressure, and force.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Mar. 2026
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Just like the verdant fields in Borrego Springs, San Diego County’s visual arts landscape will be in full bloom this season, with a bounty of vibrant exhibitions and events to keep art lovers busy all spring.—
Michael James Rocha,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Set on a remote Scottish island, the film follows siblings Isla (Rankin) and Sandy (O’Rourke), who spend their days hunting birds, conversing with mythical beings, and fiercely fending off outsiders.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
19 Mar. 2026
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In contrast to other examples of Greek temple art and even other parts of the Parthenon, where mythic gods and heroes predominate, the frieze shows everyday mortals, perhaps even the contemporaries of those who carved it and viewed it.—
James Romm,
The New York Review of Books,
19 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Today, the museum is home to more than 32,000 works of art, and the merger in 2023 with the Museum of Photographic Arts only expanded that collection, adding to the museum’s photographic collections.—
Michael James Rocha,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Mar. 2026
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My students are required to use numerous photographic references for their pieces.—
Heide Janssen,
Oc Register,
15 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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His wife, played by Sedgwick, is his long-time star; Sosie and Travis play the fictional filmmaker’s kids, both of whom are working on his latest shoot in rural Texas.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
20 Mar. 2026
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The fictional ’90s sitcom star played by Lisa Kudrow has been around for three major shifts in the television industry.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The show traces the life and career of Ringgold, who introduced Black women’s pictorial, narrative and craft traditions.—
Noah Lyons,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Mar. 2026
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Much like Early One Morning, the surrounding tubes in Bove’s work take on a decidedly imagistic, pictorial quality, their crumpled strands suggesting wide, overlapping brushstrokes varying in tone and texture depending on the play of shadow and light.—
Gordon Hughes,
Artforum,
1 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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As fictitious as living forever.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Mar. 2026
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Bensley infuses his design with imaginary stories—in this case about adventurers, their steamer trunks emblazoned with fictitious initials.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
17 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Imaginal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imaginal. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
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