1
as in graphical
consisting of or relating to pictures
after a desensitizing series of imaginal exposures to the feared object, the phobic person is then exposed to the actual object
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in mythic
not real and existing only in the imagination
the equator is merely an imaginal line
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of imaginal
Peter [Merry] likes to use is that, when a caterpillar is becoming a butterfly, new ‘imaginal cells’ emerge.
—
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
Mercury entering into Pisces turns up the imaginal juice.
—USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024
Then, from bundles of cells known as imaginal disks, a new body takes form.
—Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2023
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
Mercury entering into Pisces turns up the imaginal juice.
—USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024
Then, from bundles of cells known as imaginal disks, a new body takes form.
—Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for imaginal
Adjective
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Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium.—
Lisa Baker Gibbs,
Arkansas Online,
11 Sep. 2025
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Shortly after, graphic close-up videos of the attack began proliferating on X and TikTok.—
Rebecca Jennings,
Vulture,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Steve Young lifts his arm, holding an imaginary football, preparing to throw.—
Seth Wickersham,
The Atlantic,
8 Sep. 2025
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Moreover, her five-letter titles refer to satellite navigation waypoints and fixes for aircraft flying in clouds or at night, that offer passage to imaginary locations defined by the interception of magnetic vectors drawn from the earth’s poles.—
Natasha Gural,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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When consumed, the body breaks down the compound into psilocin, an alkaloid that can cause startling visual hallucinations and psychological effects, often including intense introspection.—
Allison Parshall,
Scientific American,
11 Sep. 2025
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Invest in natural language query tools with visual explanations (graph traversal, source citations).—
Daniel Fallmann,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Over at Metropolitan State University, the on-campus gallery is presenting works from five Twin Cities Latino artists working across paintings, puppetry, photography and more focused on bestiarios, or fantastical, mythical beasts.—
Jared Kaufman,
Twin Cities,
7 Sep. 2025
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Renewal Through Setback Erik Marthon Olsen of Laerdal Invest chose the phoenix, the mythical bird that rises from its own ashes.—
Francois Botha,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Displayed in the same first-floor gallery, Because (2018) comprises artworks composed of photographs in wooden frames under a curtain embroidered with a phrase explaining what triggered her photographic act.—
Natasha Gural,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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This project became both an ethnographic and photographic study of how women inhabit, resist, and reimagine their roles in a context denned by deep contradictions – beauty and chaos, devotion and repression, tradition and transformation.—
Vogue,
Vogue,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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As Newton soon learned, there is a long runway between playing a fictitious, Regency-era ladies’ man and becoming one of the most recognizable designers in pop culture.—
José Criales-Unzueta,
Vogue,
5 Sep. 2025
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The film is set in New Mexico, in the fictitious title town—population of two thousand four hundred and thirty-five, according to a road sign—where the election year sees the mayor also up for reëlection.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Yeager was one of Hef’s go-to photographers, shooting eight centerfolds along with pictorial spreads.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
14 Aug. 2025
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As for the pictorial tattoos on Abrego Garcia’s hand, marijuana leaves, crosses and skulls are widely used by people who do not belong to gangs.—
Louis Jacobson,
Austin American Statesman,
2 July 2025
Adjective
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Jessica Simpson, Ashlee Simpson, and Ciara, along with Netflix's KPop Demon Hunters stars EJAE, REI AMI and Audrey Nuna, who make up the fictional group Huntr/x will serve as presenters throughout the evening.—
Marina Watts,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
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Binge the autumn episodes or watch the whole thing again for the millionth time to enjoy a fictional fall getaway.—
Toni Fitzgerald,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Imaginal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imaginal. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
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