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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
  • Most writers don’t have those constraints, real or imaginary.
    — Louis Menand, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Eleven gullible idiots were talked into acquitting because of an imaginary female ailment.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of imaginary
Adjective
  • In that dialogue, Endymion, the mythical shepherd, is imprisoned in an eternal sleep by Artemis and accosts a stranger who is on his way to Mount Latmus, where Endymion repairs each night to wait for Artemis.
    — Max Norman, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Over the past few decades, Bimota has reached an almost mythical status in the motorcycle community.
    — Michael Van Runkle, Robb Report, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of mythical
Adjective
  • Although this hypothetical technology was long considered to be exclusively a fictional idea, a growing number of physicists have begun to wonder if warp drives might really be possible, and if not in a practical sense, at least on paper.
    — Micah Hanks, Space.com, 23 Sep. 2026
  • This fictional tale based on real events looks at the impact of civil war on the country, just as Yemen is on the edge of a possible return to the conflict that killed 150,000 and brought many others close to famine.
    — Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of fictional
Adjective
  • As the puzzle pieces shift slowly into place, these revelations are jaw-dropping (once again, in their highly fictitious context), leading to a journalistic urgency.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Despite its admittedly fictitious origins, Juliet’s House is one of the most popular sites in Verona.
    — Lilit Marcus, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 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 production was full of nostalgia for an imagined past when the small screen was more ascendant and apolitical, with tributes to Charlie’s Angels and Dolly Parton shirking any embrace of the form’s progressive history.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2026
  • The summer before, so many Black men and Black children and Black women had been murdered for the most meager of real or imagined offenses.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 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 27 Sep. 2026.

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