phantasmagoric

adjective

variants or phantasmagorical
Definition of phantasmagoricnext
as in hallucinatory

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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 Over the course of one phantasmagoric evening, Robin witnesses events that prefigure the Revolutionary War. — John Swansburg, The Atlantic, 15 June 2026 Right around that time, the Venice Film Festival saw Mamoru Hosoda’s anime epic Scarlet, in which the Danish prince became an ass-kicking Danish princess consigned to a hellish and phantasmagoric underworld. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 14 Apr. 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
  1. hallucinatory
  2. surreal
  3. illusory
  4. imaginary
  5. fictional
  6. phantasmal
  7. fictitious
  8. chimerical
Adjective
  • The year before, Khrzhanovsky had won a Tiger Award at Rotterdam for his first feature, the hallucinatory drama 4.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026
  • After the attack, his witty, vulnerable voice holds together a chaotic and increasingly hallucinatory downward slide.
    — Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of hallucinatory
Adjective
  • The Hanna-Barbera cat and mouse — formerly a throwaway bunch of cartoons, now a ‘franchise’ — are all about triflingly menial disputes taken to absurd heights, leading to surreal sight gags and baroque violence.
    — Caspar Salmon, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The issue lingered late into the week, including the surreal spectacle of the SEC battling LSU in multiple courtrooms.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of surreal
Adjective
  • Thus, if none of the three components of time exist, then there is nothing left, leaving the whole of time as illusory!
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2026
  • The apparently illusory swings show the difficulty of accurately counting homeless people in the expanse of north Los Angeles County.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of illusory
Adjective
  • Where teams already afforded every advantage are now given the gift of imaginary time.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2026
  • The equinox occurs when the sun’s center passes through the imaginary line from the north to the south.
    — Alexiah Syrai Olsen, Idaho Statesman, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of imaginary
Adjective
  • Also figuring prominently in the proceedings is the cleric’s acolyte Alyce (Thomasin McKenzie, Jojo Rabbit), a fictional character representing the many women who took part in the movement.
    — Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Amidst this fictional romance boom, real life dating is in a recession.
    — Emily Kelleher, InStyle, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of fictional
Adjective
  • The Mellotron occupies a phantasmal space in our pop culture consciousness.
    — Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 19 July 2026
  • Beyond that, all apparent structures are merely phantasmal.
    — Big Think, Big Think, 27 Oct. 2025
Definition of phantasmal
Adjective
  • Inspectors have found hundreds of allegedly fictitious facilities, while at least 833 kitchens have been shut down for failing to meet hygiene and sanitation standards.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The character of Luciano is fictitious, just as that of Fersen is inspired by various people in Meier’s entourage during those years.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of fictitious
Adjective
  • Carrington, who died in 2011, devoted the final 17 years of her life to creating bronze figures and masks, conjuring her chimeric cast out of the canvas and into our own.
    — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 13 June 2026
  • To overcome the tumor microenvironment, researchers have developed a treatment called chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy, known as CAR-T therapy for short.
    — Charles J. Dimitroff, The Conversation, 12 June 2026
Definition of chimerical

Browse Nearby Words

phantasmagorias
phantasmagoric
phantasmal
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Phantasmagoric.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phantasmagoric. Accessed 15 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of quorum

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
funny guinea pig in glasses reading a book
Challenging Words You Should Know Vol 2 Words to the wise
See All