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
-
Buchanan Studio’s signature Studio Stripe—a wide, graphic band screen-printed onto heavyweight Belgian linen—and its cotton velvets speak to impactful, sensual interiors.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
2 June 2026
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Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium.—
Kelly Brant,
Arkansas Online,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
Someone needs to tell both Salley and her extraneous E to get the hell off my imaginary husband.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
3 June 2026
-
Katie Dippold shaped the show from its very beginnings by way of her passion for both horror and comedy, Hiro Murai is a quiet artist who carries a big imaginary stick.—
Stephen Root,
IndieWire,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
Literary, visual, and performative art of the African diaspora iterates separation as a literal separation of the bodies of mothers and children.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 June 2026
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But since the beginning of the 21st century, there’s been more and more access to the actual visual truth.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
7 June 2026
Adjective
-
Today, the municipality doesn’t seem too eager to promote its affinity for the international language (its tourism office tends to focus more on local castles and caves), but Herzberg has achieved near-mythic status among some Esperantists.—
Katie Thornton,
Harpers Magazine,
26 May 2026
-
Horses, those strange mythical creatures.—
Nielsen Dinwoodie,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
Adjective
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By greatly expanding the dimensions of his images, with their muted palettes, tight cropping, found symmetries, and laconic wit, had the maestro of the photographic epigram betrayed his subtractive aesthetic?—
James Quandt,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
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Ironically, Kodak invented one of the first digital cameras in 1975, yet its leaders feared that adopting this technology would destroy their traditional photographic film business.—
Veronica Angela,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Adjective
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Those crews worked on the Country Club Plaza, in a home in Lee’s Summit and around local soccer fields — all on the Missouri side, even though the fictional Coach Lasso hails from Kansas.—
Lisa Gutierrez,
Kansas City Star,
29 May 2026
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The show, which follows Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler moving to the fictional South Texas town of Rio Paloma, premiered May 15 and airs Fridays on Paramount+ and the Paramount Network.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 May 2026
Adjective
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Silence = Death, the work of the Silence = Death Collective (and not ACT UP, as Avram Finkelstein relates in his interview) became the primary pictorial representation of ACT UP and a rallying slogan for the fight against the disease.—
Liz Tracey,
JSTOR Daily,
3 June 2026
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Stripped of any individuating pictorial or textual material, the sign remains recognizable as originating in the streets of Berlin through its figure alone.—
Erika Landström,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
Adjective
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However, operators often hide behind fictitious or stolen identities and fail to comply with cease-and-desist letters; meanwhile, hosting servers are often untraceable, shielded by anonymization techniques or by being located in countries where legal enforcement is extremely difficult.—
Emma Woollacott,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
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He is charged with one count of unlawful voting by aliens and one count of the procurement, casting, or tabulation of ballots that are known to be materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent under state law.—
Louis Casiano,
FOXNews.com,
19 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Imaginal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imaginal. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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