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
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
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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These studies were also really an investigation of color, thinking of the way graphic scores can work and trying to convey a mood or tone through color theory.—
Caitlin Woolsey,
Artforum,
1 June 2025
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On the opening day of Combs’s trial, the jury was shown graphic video of him physically assaulting Ventura in a California hotel in 2016.—
Lisa Respers France,
CNN Money,
28 May 2025
Adjective
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Draw an imaginary line from the magnitude 2.3 star Merak, which forms the outer base of the 'bowl', through Dubhe, the star positioned as the 'pouring tip' of the asterism.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
20 May 2025
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The mastermind behind covert action, Frank Wisner, never paused to consider that his cure for defeating an imaginary worldwide communist conspiracy was worse than the disease.—
Bruce Fein,
Baltimore Sun,
15 May 2025
Adjective
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Depending on the critic, Gates, 51, a professor of visual art at the University of Chicago, is a land artist.—
Christopher Borrelli,
Chicago Tribune,
28 May 2025
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His visual art has been featured by PBS and Los Angeles’ premier art institutions: the LA Opera, Hammer Museum, and the Center Theatre Group.—
R. Daniel Foster,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2025
Adjective
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What makes the book so extraordinary is that is functions as a de facto catalogue for a mythical Rolex museum, chock full of images of timepieces from every Rolex era, dating to 1908, three years after the brand was founded.—
Victoria Gomelsky,
Robb Report,
26 May 2025
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The mythical creature is said to be the origin of the first Vietnamese people.—
Jenna Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
23 May 2025
Adjective
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From portraying Alfred Hitchcock and Steve Jobs to taking beauty shots of Kate Moss, depicting Las Vegas landscapes and lensing fashion campaigns for the likes of Chanel, Prada and Levi’s, his photographic career has brought him to many a place.—
Martino Carrera,
Footwear News,
27 May 2025
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The last recorded sighting of the fuzzy rodent 30 years ago failed to yield any photographic evidence, but after six months scouring the jungles of New Guinea, one researcher has finally documented one of the world’s most elusive mammals.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
21 May 2025
Adjective
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The Scheme To carry out the fraud scheme, the defendants and their co-conspirators created fictitious employers and lists of alleged employees—those lists were generated using personally identifiable information (PII) gleaned from thousands of identity theft victims.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2025
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When Noah Wyle reunited with ER producers John Wells and R. Scott Gemmill to make HBO Max’s The Pitt, the plan was to offer a realistic portrayal of healthcare today through the lens of harried pros working in a fictitious Pittsburgh hospital.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
20 May 2025
Adjective
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Image Sherald’s vertical portraits, by contrast, retain their pictorial charisma despite a certain repetitiveness.—
Deborah Solomon,
New York Times,
15 May 2025
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The Filipino filmmaker delivers a pictorial fresco of the 16th century, at once a sensory immersion and an uncompromising political perspective on colonial violence.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
9 May 2025
Adjective
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Set on the fictional New England island of New Penzance in the 1960s, Sam (Jared Gilman), an emotionally disturbed orphan, and Suzy (Kara Hayward), a sophisticated, yet troubled girl in the vein of Margot Tenenbaum, long to grow up and get away from the chaos that surrounds them.—
Shannon Carlin,
Time,
30 May 2025
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Artificial intelligence, virtual reality, self-driving cars — these were all fictional concepts that have since crossed the threshold from imagination to innovation.—
Dete Meserve,
Space.com,
29 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Imaginal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imaginal. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.
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