as in imaginary
not real and existing only in the imagination
had spent a restless night during which he was visited by a series of phantasmic figures
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Recent Examples of phantasmic
Standing to the right, the viewer perceives this phantasmic figure underneath their reflection, a disturbing Other, a double.
—
James Meyer, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026
James Meyer, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for phantasmic
Adjective
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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
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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
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The site tells you, in simple terms, whether the dog — or any other animal, real or mythical — makes it out alive.—
Cody Godwin,
USA Today,
12 June 2026
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There are also hopper toys that defy the typical ball design in favor of whimsical animals and mythical creatures.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
12 June 2026
Adjective
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Peter [Merry] likes to use is that, when a caterpillar is becoming a butterfly, new ‘imaginal cells’ emerge.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
7 Aug. 2025
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With one technique, for example—called imaginal exposure—you might be asked to visualize the process of going to the airport, boarding the plane, and experiencing a bad bout of turbulence.—
Angela Haupt,
TIME,
10 May 2024
Adjective
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The humanities will survive not by defending an imagined past of disinterested purity, but by demonstrating their necessity in a fractured republic.—
The Atlantic,
The Atlantic,
16 June 2026
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That is, real, not merely illusory, measures, so that the allure to breach peace for imagined gains is overshadowed.—
Keith Tidman,
Baltimore Sun,
15 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Phantasmic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phantasmic. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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