phantasmic

adjective

Definition of phantasmicnext
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for phantasmic
  1. imaginary
  2. mythical
  3. fictional
  4. fictitious
  5. imaginal
  6. imagined
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
  • Her paintings of vibrant and mythical scenes inspired by Central Park’s wildlife were popular with locals and tourists alike.
    — Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 10 Nov. 2026
  • The island slowly took on mythical proportions in my head, inspiring me to make a silent promise to myself to keep at it, become a better diver, and return one day to witness its underwater glory with my own two eyes.
    — Avantika Chaturvedi, Travel + Leisure, 9 Nov. 2026
Definition of mythical
Adjective
  • The fictional planet’s volcanic landscape releases gases such as sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, both of which are hazardous at high concentrations.
    — Alix Freckelton, Space.com, 11 Nov. 2026
  • So all of the people in the piece — Vincent, Gus, whoever — those were all just fictional characters.
    — Jack Denton, Vulture, 11 Nov. 2026
Definition of fictional
Adjective
  • Even so, consistency is also what keeps audiences coming back and Joe Miñoso, who has been with the show from the start, has been a reassuringly familiar face at the fictitious Firehouse 51.
    — Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 5 Nov. 2026
  • 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
Definition of fictitious
Adjective
  • 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
  • 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
Definition of imaginal
Adjective
  • The companies that continue to solve for an imagined version of their consumer will lose to the companies solving for the real one.
    — Sam Peskin, Fortune, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Brand, ⁠once ‌one of Britain’s most high-profile ‌broadcasters and the ‌former husband of ⁠singer Katy Perry, had denied the accusations, saying the incidents ‌had either ​been ‌consensual, reinvented ⁠or re-imagined.
    — Adela Suliman, NBC news, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of imagined

Browse Nearby Words

phantasmal
phantasmic
phantasms
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Phantasmic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phantasmic. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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