IMAGINAL Synonyms: 93 Similar and Opposite Words

imaginal

adjective

i-ˈma-jə-nᵊl

Definition of imaginal

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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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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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 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

As the graphic below shows, Fernandez-Pardo is comfortable running in-behind down the channels and sending in crosses, as well as beating his defender and cutting balls back for team-mates.

— Chris Waugh, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2026
The Scotland campaign features chunky cable-knit, jacquard, Fair Isle, graphic intarsia and patchwork knits along with V-neck pullovers and cardigans.

— Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of graphic

Adjective

The nearly $82,000 purchase will replace obsolete devices that are currently being used in the visual arts department’s graphic design courses.

— Cam'ron Hardy, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026
Even if only proverbial, the figure of 330 million gods and goddesses reflects a vast inventory of divine beings found across texts, visual art, and the different towns and regions throughout India.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of visual

Adjective

Morris’s book focuses only on the representation of real animals; cataloguing mythic and hybrid creatures would take another volume entirely.

— Kelly Presutti, ARTnews.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Equally jubilant and terrifying, his size brings both John and Jim Ross to this mythic quality.

— Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of mythical

Adjective

The 1970s saw electronic detectors take over for photographic plates, increasing the detector sensitivity by an order of magnitude.

— Don Figer, The Conversation, 27 Aug. 2026
Think 19th century photographic storytellers Julia Margaret Cameron and Oscar Gustave Rejlander.

— Leah Ollman, Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of photographic

Adjective

In the footage, players follow the story of Jason and Lucia, a couple living in the fictional Vice City, who are picking up drugs, and their mission is thwarted by the police, who begin to raid the place.

— Moises Mendez II, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2026
Claire Foy will also star in the film, playing a fictional reporter of The Sun that acts as a composite of various female reporters of the time period.

— Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of fictional

Adjective

These pictorial cards also capture scenes along the Fox River, as well as schools, churches, hotels, historic buildings, bridges, the railroad, events and celebrations.

— Denise Crosby, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2026
It was coined in Japan in the 1990s for small pictorial symbols used in electronic messaging.

— Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026

Definition of pictorial

Adjective

The April indictment accused the organization of secretly funneling millions of dollars in donor funds to informants embedded in violent extremist movements, using bank accounts opened for fictitious companies.

— Arie Perliger, The Conversation, 31 Aug. 2026
The inaugural Ig Nobel Prize ceremony honored three fictitious achievers; all recipients in subsequent years (barring a 1994 award based on inaccurate reporting) have been real people.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of fictitious

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imaginably

imaginal

imaginary

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“Imaginal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imaginal. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of imaginal

adjective

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