adjective
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wildly fanciful; imaginary
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given to or indulging in fantasies
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of chimerical
Explanation
Use the adjective chimerical to describe something that is wildly fanciful or imaginative — like the chimerical illustrations of magical creatures in a children's book. A chimera was a fire-breathing monster from Greek mythology made from three different animals: a lion at its head, a goat in the middle, and a serpent at the end. The first surviving mention of the beast is in Homer's The Iliad. From this fantastical creature, English created the adjective chimerical to describe wild figments of the imagination.
Vocabulary lists containing chimerical
Frankenstein
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Mr Hume may call this a "Chimerical Project."
From The Writings of Samuel Adams - Volume 4 by Cushing, Harry Alonzo
Chimerical animals and floral ornaments are often used in enriching these agrafes.
From Manners and Social Usages by Sherwood, Mrs. John M. E. W.
It was not done for the sake of such a Chimerical Beauty as that of resembling Virgil in this particular, but for the more just and regular Disposition of this great Work.
From The Spectator, Volume 2. by Addison, Joseph
I should be the most contented happy Man alive, were the Chimerical Happiness which springs from the Paintings of the Fancy less fleeting and transitory.
From The Spectator, Volume 1 Eighteenth-Century Periodical Essays by Addison, Joseph
Chimerical dreams of souls romantic Are out of date as an old wife's rune.
From Days of the Discoverers by Choate, Florence
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
