phantasmagoric

adjective

variants or phantasmagorical
Definition of phantasmagoricnext
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
  1. hallucinatory
  2. surreal
  3. illusory
  4. imaginary
  5. fictional
  6. phantasmal
  7. fictitious
  8. chimerical
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
  • As production moved forward, Yamazaki repeatedly urged his collaborators to put the surreal experience of Minus One behind them.
    — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Already, the past few days felt like a surreal (and very sweaty) fever dream.
    — Liam Hess, Vogue, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of surreal
Adjective
  • The nightmare of Lynch’s film is that the road’s linearity—and, by extension, our own linearity—is as illusory as its—and our—freedom.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Oct. 2026
  • 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
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 path of the 2027 total solar eclipse will cross southern Tunisia, where several locations were used to bring the fictional desert planet Tatooine to life.
    — Jamie Carter, Space.com, 4 Nov. 2026
  • The books are based in the fictional, haunted, historic lakeside town of Wharton; Season 1 of the series will adapt Webb’s book The End of Temperance Dare.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 3 Nov. 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
  • 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

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phantasmagoric
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Cite this Entry

“Phantasmagoric.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phantasmagoric. Accessed 10 Nov. 2026.

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