1
as in graphic
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 imaginary
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Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium.—
Kelly Brant,
Arkansas Online,
31 Mar. 2026
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Currently, creating those graphic depictions of children is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.—
Romy Ellenbogen,
Miami Herald,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Bartle replied that the two Kansas Cities were really one big city, separated only by an imaginary state line.—
Elijah Winkler,
Kansas City Star,
29 Mar. 2026
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In the Williams-Paisley household, even an imaginary man can cause a marital kerfuffle.—
Bryan West,
USA Today,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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This visual story captures the festival’s scale, atmosphere, fashion and crowd energy throughout the grounds.—
Miami Herald newsroom,
Miami Herald,
29 Mar. 2026
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The visual effect provokes strikes, but the vibrations also stimulate the receptors in a bass's lateral line.—
Bryan Hendricks,
Arkansas Online,
29 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Sierra Canyon finished the season 30-1 and is in the conversation for a mythical national championship.—
Tarek Fattal,
Daily News,
26 Mar. 2026
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But Arirang can be frustrating as a collection of sometimes aspirationally simplistic literary concepts from a group with a catalogue of songs brandishing mythic notions and philosophical concepts (sometimes hilariously).—
Craig Jenkins,
Vulture,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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At least, that’s what some people are saying, in a photographic meme that’s been spreading around the internet for years and refuses to die.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
26 Mar. 2026
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Before joining the team in 2023, Stephen managed the photographic archive for multimedia publisher Future, working on everything from picture editing and content licensing to directing photo shoots.—
Stephen Kelly,
TheWeek,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Clavicular is like a blend of Dorian Gray and Patrick Bateman, those fictional creations of gay authors out to probe the sinister side of male vanity.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
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The prologue that opens Ragtime loudly announces the musical’s epic ambitions as its nine fictional characters and six of its historical figures introduce themselves with third-person narration and shout-singing.—
Manuel Mendoza,
Dallas Morning News,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Perrine was featured in a pictorial layout in Playboy’s May 1972 issue and on the cover of the magazine in August 1981.—
Carmel Dagan,
Variety,
23 Mar. 2026
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Madrazo also has great discernment in subtly arranging pictorial props, such as clothing, cards or flowers, that stage his winsome female figures to good effect.—
Benjamin Lima
Special Contributor,
Dallas Morning News,
18 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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One requires election records to be maintained for 22 months, while the other prohibits procuring, casting or tabulating false, fictitious or fraudulent ballots.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Mar. 2026
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Rogen, who in the show plays fictitious studio head Matt Remick, briefly attended the festival in September to do research.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
25 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Imaginal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imaginal. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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