imaginary

[ ih-maj-uh-ner-ee ]

adjective

1. existing only in the imagination or fancy; not real; fancied:

   an imaginary illness; the imaginary animals in the stories of Dr. Seuss.

   Synonyms: illusory, baseless, chimerical, shadowy, visionary, fanciful

   Antonyms: real

noun

, plural im·ag·i·nar·ies.

1. Mathematics. imaginary number.

imaginary

/ -dʒɪnrɪ; ɪˈmædʒɪnərɪ /

adjective

1. existing in the imagination; unreal; illusory
2. maths involving or containing imaginary numbers. The imaginary part of a complex number, z, is usually written Im z

Derived Forms

• imˈaginariness, noun
• imˈaginarily, adverb

Other Words From

• im·agi·nari·ly adverb
• im·agi·nari·ness noun
• nonim·agi·nari·ly adverb
• nonim·agi·nari·ly·ness noun
• nonim·agi·nari·ness noun
• nonim·agi·nary adjective
• preim·agi·nary adjective
• unim·agi·nary adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of imaginary¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin imāginārius, equivalent to imāgin-, (stem of imāgō ) image + -ārius -ary

Related Words

• abstract
• fanciful
• fantastic
• fictional
• hypothetical
• imagined
• theoretical
• unreal
• whimsical