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

Rubio weaves stories about heartbreak, drugs, and the slippery, occasionally hallucinatory process of finding your way back to your own life.

— Sophie Miller, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2026
There’s a real opportunity in the fourth episode to do something fun, or at least interesting, when Tyson convinces Russ to join him in smoking hallucinatory toad venom, but no flair or flourishes emerge.

— Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of hallucinatory

Adjective

But those unfamiliar with his surreal talk show appearances, Dumb Starbucks or Door City, here’s a primer on the origin and rise of Fielder.

— Jenelle Riley, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
Rick Rubin episode, and that episode in particular allowed the show to take on this more surreal A24-esque turn, especially in season three.

— Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 21 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 book used an imaginary dialogue between two women to explain the principles of economics, collecting the ideas of the new science together in a way that had never before been attempted.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026
Bill Irwin isn’t going anywhere — knock on all available wood — except quickly to the imaginary bathroom just off stage right several times a night as his character’s regimen of enemas kicks in.

— Sara Holdren, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of imaginary

Adjective

The novel was also partly epistolary, including segments of fictional court transcripts and news coverage created by King (who enjoyed mimicking different writing styles).

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 21 Oct. 2026
The film—based on the 2014 play Switzerland by Joanna Murray-Smith—sets a fictional scene in the final chapter of Highsmith’s life.

— Alex Jhamb Burns, Vogue, 21 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 27 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of phantasmagoric

adjective

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