phantasmagoric

variants or phantasmagorical
Definition of phantasmagoricnext

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 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
Adjective
  • What results is a hallucinatory exploration of power, control, desire, and — that hottest of fascinated feelings right now — obsession.
    Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 3 June 2026
  • Some of the poet’s most hallucinatory imagery seeps through the corners of the screen.
    Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 2 June 2026
Adjective
  • The New Jersey Devils end the Mighty Ducks’ surreal season, winning the Stanley Cup with a 3-0 victory.
    Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2026
  • Shaboozey, who cites Pink Floyd’s surreal The Wall as one of his favorite albums and movies, had been ruminating on the idea for more than a decade.
    Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 8 June 2026
Adjective
  • Visibility into workflows is partial, and where visibility is incomplete, control is illusory.
    Krupesh Bhat, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026
  • The idea that transparency offers a route to closure is already proving illusory.
    Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • She was arrested last summer for yelling at imaginary people due to her psychiatric challenges, Murphy said.
    Jack Dura, Los Angeles Times, 13 June 2026
  • But these images as well as those from other cultures are evidence of how deeply the dog is lodged in folk consciousness as an imaginary animal alter ego.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 June 2026
Adjective
  • The Jurassic Park screenwriter notes that aliens, both real and fictional, might exist entirely outside of the bounds of human comprehension.
    Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 12 June 2026
  • What was the challenge of making this fictional band’s stardom believable — the charisma, the presence on stage, the discography?
    Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2026
Adjective
  • Beyond that, all apparent structures are merely phantasmal.
    Big Think, Big Think, 27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • However, operators often hide behind fictitious or stolen identities and fail to comply with cease-and-desist letters; meanwhile, hosting servers are often untraceable, shielded by anonymization techniques or by being located in countries where legal enforcement is extremely difficult.
    Emma Woollacott, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026
  • He is charged with one count of unlawful voting by aliens and one count of the procurement, casting, or tabulation of ballots that are known to be materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent under state law.
    Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 19 May 2026
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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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

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