as in imaginary
not real and existing only in the imagination
got needlessly upset about imagined dangers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in envisioned
to form a mental picture of
she was determined to have the wedding that she had always imagined
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in thought
to have as an opinion
I imagine that's true, but you still have to prove it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in guessed
to form an opinion from little or no evidence
I imagine things will change rapidly once we begin
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 imagined
Tomris Laffly, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2025
The rules of fiction require me to do this indirectly, constructing a narrator—whether a character or an imagined voice—to deliver the text at hand.
—Vauhini Vara, The Atlantic, 16 Oct. 2025
Perhaps the use of photographs induces a nostalgia for an imagined time before photography existed?
—Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2025
His head began bobbing to an imagined beat.
—David Wright Faladé, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2025
The Haas Brothers playful sculptures of real and imagined creatures never fail to amuse and confound.
—Jane Wooldridge, Miami Herald, 19 Sep. 2025
Those comments gave Marble an unforgettable chorus of imagined dialogue.
—Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2025
There aren’t any substantial architecture or urbanism ideas at play here, but there is a desperate attempt at marketing the services of both to an imagined audience of the young and very online.
—Kate Wagner, Curbed, 5 Sep. 2025
What happened next was a snowball effect – as small stray details were subsumed into a big imagined coverup by the White House.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2025
Saturday night went better than either could have possibly imagined when the former picked up the latter a few weeks back.
—Adam H. Beasley, Miami Herald, 26 Oct. 2025
The Long Return The world Steve Dunne imagined in the early 1990s – the one where trains save us all – was charming, but ultimately incomplete.
—Chelsea Haney
october 25, New Atlas, 25 Oct. 2025
Its abstraction feels less evasive than connective, demanding engagement with the core fear rather than the distraction of specifics; the threat can no longer be imagined as some specific other — some other government, some other madman.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025
The resulting images, bathed in amber and violet tones, radiate a beauty that seems to exist between the living and the imagined.
—Okla Jones, Essence, 23 Oct. 2025
Expectations weren't extremely high for the offense heading into the season, but things have been worse than imagined.
—Mark Kern, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
Last season’s collection imagined another encounter, this time between Saint Laurent and Robert Mapplethorpe, one artist who sublimated his desires and another who celebrated his.
—Rob Haskell, Vogue, 20 Oct. 2025
That calls for a little extra creativity from its mom — and the movie’s narrator (Emilia Clarke) — who wriggles her mandibles and gets to work embellishing upon what Dahl imagined.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
On the surface, the glorious black-and-white concoction, which had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last May, tells the (mostly imagined) story of the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s epoch-defining 1960 movie, Breathless.
—Tomris Laffly, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2025
The rules of fiction require me to do this indirectly, constructing a narrator—whether a character or an imagined voice—to deliver the text at hand.
—Vauhini Vara, The Atlantic, 16 Oct. 2025
Perhaps the use of photographs induces a nostalgia for an imagined time before photography existed?
—Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2025
His head began bobbing to an imagined beat.
—David Wright Faladé, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2025
The Haas Brothers playful sculptures of real and imagined creatures never fail to amuse and confound.
—Jane Wooldridge, Miami Herald, 19 Sep. 2025
Those comments gave Marble an unforgettable chorus of imagined dialogue.
—Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2025
There aren’t any substantial architecture or urbanism ideas at play here, but there is a desperate attempt at marketing the services of both to an imagined audience of the young and very online.
—Kate Wagner, Curbed, 5 Sep. 2025
What happened next was a snowball effect – as small stray details were subsumed into a big imagined coverup by the White House.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
Verb
McCoy imagined a future career in advocacy.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2025
Saturday night went better than either could have possibly imagined when the former picked up the latter a few weeks back.
—Adam H. Beasley, Miami Herald, 26 Oct. 2025
The Long Return The world Steve Dunne imagined in the early 1990s – the one where trains save us all – was charming, but ultimately incomplete.
—Chelsea Haney
october 25, New Atlas, 25 Oct. 2025
Its abstraction feels less evasive than connective, demanding engagement with the core fear rather than the distraction of specifics; the threat can no longer be imagined as some specific other — some other government, some other madman.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025
The resulting images, bathed in amber and violet tones, radiate a beauty that seems to exist between the living and the imagined.
—Okla Jones, Essence, 23 Oct. 2025
Expectations weren't extremely high for the offense heading into the season, but things have been worse than imagined.
—Mark Kern, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
Last season’s collection imagined another encounter, this time between Saint Laurent and Robert Mapplethorpe, one artist who sublimated his desires and another who celebrated his.
—Rob Haskell, Vogue, 20 Oct. 2025
That calls for a little extra creativity from its mom — and the movie’s narrator (Emilia Clarke) — who wriggles her mandibles and gets to work embellishing upon what Dahl imagined.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 14 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for imagined
Adjective
-
Voyager 1's approximate position lies half way along the imaginary line connecting these two stellar giants.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
25 Oct. 2025
-
Not all the scares and frights and bumps in the night are imaginary on Halloween.—
Katia Hetter,
CNN Money,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The project, Muniz explained, was initially envisioned as a two-hour reunion film before those behind the series realized there was too much ground to cover.—
Brenton Blanchet,
PEOPLE,
24 Oct. 2025
-
The helmers cycle through a year’s worth of seasons for Zhenya and Anatolij Pilipenko, inexperienced farmers who envisioned a new life for themselves and their two young daughters.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
As gutting as that was, the team received uplifting news on each player Monday indicating that neither injury was as serious as initially thought.—
Max Dible,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Oct. 2025
-
Five years on, and somehow, the American economy has not only avoided a contraction but has managed to grow—an outcome many investors thought impossible.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Nelson may have guessed correctly on the president digging his heels into tariffs seven years on from his first term, but the taxes may not be around for much longer.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
23 Oct. 2025
-
Some of you might have guessed.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Listening to Jimmy tell stories about Tennessee Williams, Hemingway’s writing, Captain Tony’s, Shel Silverstein, the characters who lived, fished, dreamed and smuggled there, time dissolved and the mythic Key West came to life.—
Alex Ross,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
-
This sort of commercial imagery has accomplished something truly new, something the CORONA engineers could only have dreamed about.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Schuster said the Fujian is more likely a stepping stone, and China’s next carrier, the Type 004, on which early construction is believed to have begun, will incorporate lessons learned from it.—
Brad Lendon,
CNN Money,
26 Oct. 2025
-
De Silva, police noted, was an innocent bystander who was not involved in the quarrel and was not believed to have been the target.—
Liam Quinn,
PEOPLE,
26 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
As Parekh noted on the call, this outlook assumed no change in global tariff rates or policies and no change in the macroeconomic outlook, which has been worsening.—
Zev Fima,
CNBC,
31 Oct. 2025
-
Essayli assumed the position on April 2, which meant his term would have expired on July 31.—
Jenna Sundel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Of course, close animal encounters aren't always fictitious.—
Kelli Bender,
PEOPLE,
21 Oct. 2025
-
The Half Moon Bay weigh-off began in 1974, when the California town barely edged out Circleville, Ohio, in an amiable contest for the fictitious title of pumpkin capital of the world.—
Jennifer Borresen,
USA Today,
19 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Imagined.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imagined. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share