variants or mythic

Synonym Chooser

How is the word mythical distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of mythical are apocryphal, fabulous, fictitious, and legendary. While all these words mean "having the nature of something imagined or invented," mythical implies a purely fanciful explanation of facts or the creation of beings and events out of the imagination.

mythical creatures

When is apocryphal a more appropriate choice than mythical?

In some situations, the words apocryphal and mythical are roughly equivalent. However, apocryphal implies an unknown or dubious source or origin or may imply that the thing itself is dubious or inaccurate.

a book that repeats many apocryphal stories

In what contexts can fabulous take the place of mythical?

While in some cases nearly identical to mythical, fabulous stresses the marvelous or incredible character of something without necessarily implying impossibility or actual nonexistence.

a land of fabulous riches

When might fictitious be a better fit than mythical?

While the synonyms fictitious and mythical are close in meaning, fictitious implies fabrication and suggests artificiality or contrivance more than deliberate falsification or deception.

fictitious characters

When can legendary be used instead of mythical?

The words legendary and mythical can be used in similar contexts, but legendary suggests the elaboration of invented details and distortion of historical facts produced by popular tradition.

the legendary exploits of Davy Crockett

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 mythical From Ithaca’s orchard to his father’s garden, Gospodinov moves from mythic to mortal soil. James Wood, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025 This year, Klum transformed into Medusa, the mythical creature who turns people to stone with a single look. Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2025 The book comprises over three dozen portraits by photographer James Van Der Zee—a renowned figure of the Harlem Renaissance known for depicting Black middle-class life—that offer a visual chronology of the tradition, complete with biblical and mythical adornments. Air Mail, 1 Nov. 2025 That suits its otherworldly and somewhat formal tone, which takes viewers deep into Japan’s mythical past for a quartet of eerie tales about lonely ghosts and vengeful spirits who bring supernatural justice to selfish and immoral humans. Katie Rife, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for mythical
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mythical
Adjective
  • When a mysterious and legendary skeleton, badly injured, randomly resurfaced in 2018, an interdisciplinary team of researchers went to work to find out who the person was.
    Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 10 Nov. 2025
  • The spotlight increased after a disastrous interview with CBS to promote the legendary coach’s book.
    Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • One way to represent a complex number like a + ib is as a point on a plane, where a is the position on the x-axis (which can be thought of as the real number line) and b is the position on an imaginary y-axis.
    Daniel Garisto, Quanta Magazine, 7 Nov. 2025
  • For example, the tests measure AI’s ability to fix inconsistencies in customer invoices Excel spreadsheets for an imaginary sales analyst role, or AI’s ability to create a full production schedule for a 60-second video shoot for an imaginary video producer.
    Jared Perlo, NBC news, 6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • And at the center of it all, there was murder suspect Michael Skakel, who also happens to be related to the fabled Kennedy family.
    Corky Siemaszko, NBC news, 3 Nov. 2025
  • Their journey spans icy fjords, Byzantine intrigue, and the fabled Silk Road, blending Viking grit with ancient Chinese wisdom, unexpected alliances, and a touch of magic.
    Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Anmore and Fort Langley — to make up the fictional community.
    Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 8 Nov. 2025
  • SpringHill’s involvement signals a likely retention of the original’s format, with real sports stars playing themselves as clients of the fictional sports agency.
    Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • In a white Ford Expedition with exempt plates and red emergency lights, Farzam stopped at a checkpoint manned by the National Guard on January 17 and presented a document showing the vehicle was registered to the fictitious Santa Muerte Fire Department, prosecutors said.
    Ray Sanchez, CNN Money, 2 Nov. 2025
  • The film is set in a version of America that, while fictitious, still feels distinctly American.
    Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Both blend horrific imagery in the real and imagined world, however.
    Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2025
  • Yet politicians often effectively leverage fears to garner votes, and companies routinely market unnecessary products that promise protection from imagined or exaggerated harms.
    Kurt Snibbe, Oc Register, 24 Oct. 2025
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
  • 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

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Cite this Entry

“Mythical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mythical. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.

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