imaginary
[ ih-maj-uh-ner-ee ]
/ ɪˈmædʒ əˌnɛr i /
adjective
existing only in the imagination or fancy; not real; fancied: an imaginary illness; the imaginary animals in the stories of Dr. Seuss.
noun, plural im·ag·i·nar·ies.
Mathematics. imaginary number.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
whimsical, fantastic, abstract, fictional, unreal, fanciful, hypothetical, theoretical, ideal, visionary, apocryphal, assumed, chimerical, deceptive, delusive, dreamy, fabulous, hallucinatory, illusive, illusory
Nearby words
- imager,
- imagery,
- imagesetter,
- imaginable,
- imaginal,
- imaginary axis,
- imaginary number,
- imaginary part,
- imaginary unit,
- imagination
Origin of imaginary
SYNONYMS FOR imaginary
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for imaginary
imaginary
/ (ɪˈmædʒɪnərɪ, -dʒɪnrɪ) /
adjective
existing in the imagination; unreal; illusory
maths involving or containing imaginary numbers. The imaginary part of a complex number, z, is usually written Im z
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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imaginary
"not real," late 14c., ymaginaire, from imagine + -ary; or else from Late Latin imaginarius "seeming, fancied," from imaginari. Imaginary friend (one who does not exist) attested by 1789.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper