PHANTASMAGORIC Synonyms: 73 Similar and Opposite Words

phantasmagoric

adjective

variants or phantasmagorical

Definition of phantasmagoric

as in hallucinatory

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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 phantasmagoric Step into the wardrobe and enter Greta Gerwig’s phantasmagorical emporium of glam-rock excess. — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2026 Over the course of one phantasmagoric evening, Robin witnesses events that prefigure the Revolutionary War. — John Swansburg, The Atlantic, 15 June 2026 The action is punctuated by flash-frame collages that bring earlier and later observations together in a tumble of associations and hint at the drama’s mystical, phantasmagorical essence. — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2026 Today, the public district collection comprises some 35 large-scale murals, sculptures and installations, including the phantasmagoric exterior of its Museum Garage. — Andres Viglucci, Miami Herald, 30 Nov. 2025 The Land of Spooks is a phantasmagorical blend of twisting gothic spires, impossible land formations, and disconcerting expressionist proportions. — Kambole Campbell, IndieWire, 4 Nov. 2025 As the two keepers' accelerating madness batters their already uneasy relationship, the film becomes a phantasmagorical endurance test, with the two antagonistic leads hurling themselves against their tight confinement. — Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for phantasmagoric

Adjective

The hallucinatory cinematography and imposing Victorian mansion in which much of the story unfolds provide an abundance of atmosphere.

— Radhika Seth, Vogue, 29 Oct. 2026
Pollard has also been immersed in surrealism and dada, fitting genres for a musician and visual artist who has a knack for bending words and images to his will — either via hallucinatory lyrics or collages that mesh realms both physical and meta.

— Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of hallucinatory

Adjective

The past is asserting itself into the present, the future is teetering toward the past, all inside one surreal moment.

— Rebekah Taussig, Time, 28 Oct. 2026
Perhaps the most surreal deviation from the mainline DCU is writer Deniz Camp and artist Javier Rodriguez’s Absolute Martian Manhunter.

— Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of surreal

Adjective

Thomas drives away with a limp, malfunctioning Vision next to him, and an illusory, wisecracking Ultron in the back seat.

— Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026
Yet these promises of a self-running state are illusory, because AI is never truly autonomous.

— Seva Gunitsky, Foreign Affairs, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of illusory

Adjective

The film was a vision of the future refracted through an imaginary past.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Oct. 2026
The elimination of the imaginary Kong Mountains and knowledge of a shorter travel distance through the dense tropical forest accelerated French colonization of the region.

— Thomas J Bassett, The Conversation, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of imaginary

Adjective

The latest season, currently being aired, depicts a fictional Chinese intelligence agency capturing and torturing some of the Japanese spies.

— Reuters, NBC news, 29 Oct. 2026
To make the investigation personal, Ashton is using the cheerleaders’ photos as suspect pictures, while co-captain Mackenzie has supplied fun facts for their fictional police statements.

— Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of fictional

Adjective

This Lincolnian view of the war—that the United States was perpetual and that the Confederate States of America was a fictitious, farcical nation—has led to various historical interpretations ever since, among historians and laypeople alike.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 19 Oct. 2026
The series will be set in a fictitious Barneys in Beverly Hills, not New York, and the real founding family of the retailer, the Pressman family, has no involvement, the spokesperson said.

— Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of fictitious

Adjective

Yet, for millions living with untreatable neurological conditions, these chimeric rodents represent a crucial step forward — bringing the dark box of the human brain into the light.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 17 Sep. 2026
In a study published Wednesday in Nature, the Stanford team reported finding types of human cells inside the brains of 3-month-old chimeric mouse pups that are very hard to obtain in a dish.

— Megan Molteni, STAT, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of chimerical

Browse Nearby Words

phantasmagorias

phantasmagoric

phantasmal

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“Phantasmagoric.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phantasmagoric. Accessed 3 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of phantasmagoric

adjective

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