variants also chimeric

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective chimerical contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of chimerical are fanciful, fantastic, imaginary, quixotic, and visionary. While all these words mean "unreal or unbelievable," chimerical combines the implication of visionary and fantastic.

chimerical dreams of future progress

In what contexts can fanciful take the place of chimerical?

The synonyms fanciful and chimerical are sometimes interchangeable, but fanciful suggests the free play of the imagination.

a teller of fanciful stories

When is it sensible to use fantastic instead of chimerical?

The words fantastic and chimerical can be used in similar contexts, but fantastic implies incredibility or strangeness beyond belief.

a fantastic world inhabited by monsters

When can imaginary be used instead of chimerical?

The words imaginary and chimerical are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, imaginary applies to something which is fictitious and purely the product of one's imagination.

an imaginary desert isle

Where would quixotic be a reasonable alternative to chimerical?

While the synonyms quixotic and chimerical are close in meaning, quixotic implies a devotion to romantic or chivalrous ideals unrestrained by ordinary prudence and common sense.

a quixotic crusade

When might visionary be a better fit than chimerical?

While in some cases nearly identical to chimerical, visionary stresses impracticality or incapability of realization.

visionary schemes

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 chimerical Summary Allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells hold great promise for expanding the accessibility of CAR-T therapy, whereas the risks of allograft rejection have hampered its application. Abhishek Bhardwaj, Interesting Engineering, 7 Oct. 2024 Veering between surreal interior monologue, scholarly criticism, and elliptical verse, Garza’s chimerical and metatextual whodunnit unsettlingly posits that no one—not the writer, and perhaps not even, or especially not, the reader—is truly innocent. The New Yorker, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2025 In spite of everything, the setting continues to compel me, as does the puzzle of Flores’s fiction, which frames the South Texas border region as a territory both physical and chimerical. David L. Ulin, The Atlantic, 21 Feb. 2025 Meanwhile, Kilgore, his dream of fame approaching, also sees its chimerical agonies. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 14 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for chimerical
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chimerical
Adjective
  • This relic of constitutional law, which the Supreme Court hasn’t taken seriously since its quiet death in the New Deal era, is more mythical than historical—holding, more or less, that Congress cannot delegate its lawmaking power to another branch of government.
    Cristian Farias, New Yorker, 10 Apr. 2025
  • This name originates from a Greek myth. Eunice: Another historic Greek name, the mythical Eunice was the sea-nymph daughter of Nereus and Doris.
    Lydia Wang, Parents, 8 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Amid the audience laughter at a lecture, U.S. Navy oceanographer Robert Ballard bit his tongue and told the questioner the jewelry was fictitious.
    Terry Collins, USA Today, 14 Apr. 2025
  • Searches were carried out in France and Belgium last month to determine if his Belgian tax domicile was fictitious.
    Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, 24 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Bad Summer People, which has drawn comparisons to The White Lotus, is set in the idyllic fictional town of Salcombe, Fire Island, and follows a sequence of life shattering events when a body is discovered off the side of the boardwalk.
    Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 10 Apr. 2025
  • Nowhere is this attention to detail more felt than in the production design of the studio itself, which is intended to emulate great legacy companies like Paramount and Warner Bros., the latter of which stands in for the series’ fictional Continental Studios in exterior scenes.
    Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 9 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Chimerical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chimerical. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.

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