mythical
Americanadjective
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pertaining to, of the nature of, or involving a myth.
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dealt with in myth, as a prehistoric period.
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dealing with myths, as writing.
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existing only in myth, as a person.
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without foundation in fact; imaginary; fictitious.
The explanation was entirely mythical.
adjective
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of or relating to myth
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imaginary or fictitious
Other Word Forms
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mythicalnessnoun
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nonmythicaladjective
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premythicaladjective
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pseudomythicaladjective
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quasi-mythicaladjective
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semimythicadjective
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semimythicaladjective
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unmythicaladjective
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mythicallyadverb
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nonmythicallyadverb
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pseudomythicallyadverb
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quasi-mythicallyadverb
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semimythicallyadverb
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unmythicallyadverb
Etymology
Origin of mythical
1670–80; < Late Latin mȳthicus < Greek mȳthikós of myths ( see myth, -ic) + -al 1
Explanation
Mythical means from myth, fables, or other traditional stories. A mythical story has no basis in historical events. Sometimes someone whose deeds far outshine others is referred to as mythical. There are a number of mythical animals that inhabit stories from around the globe. A white horse with a horn protruding from its forehead, the unicorn, is a mythical beast that is very popular worldwide. Much of Western art takes mythical stories, gods, goddesses, or other spirit creatures as subject matter.
Vocabulary lists containing mythical
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Explorers: Triumphs and Troubles
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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.
For the first few years of the boom, tech companies made design decisions that portrayed A.I. as a magical, mythical force.
From Slate ● Oct. 14, 2026
The species was named Vasuki indicus in honor of Vasuki, the mythical serpent associated with the Hindu deity Shiva, who is traditionally depicted with the snake wrapped around his neck.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
"There's the mythical figure of your big brother's friend or something, who passes on good music taste to you," says Chayka, whose book Filterworld explores the impacts of algorithms on culture.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
The post-apocalyptic, jazzy New Orleans-style “Hadestown,” written by Anaïs Mitchell, is a mythical love story that follows young lovers Orpheus and Eurydice and the rulers of the underworld, Hades and Persephone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
Jorge Borges, in his recent bestiary of mythical creatures, notes that the idea of round beasts was imagined by many speculative minds, and Johannes Kepler once argued that the earth itself is such a being.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
