imaginary

UK: /ɪˈmædʒɪn^əri/ US: /ɪˈmædʒəˌnɛri/ ,(i maj′ə ner′ē)

Inflections of 'imaginary' (n): npl: imaginaries

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

im•ag•i•nar•y /ɪˈmædʒəˌnɛri/   adj. 

1. existing only in the imagination:
   imaginary monsters.

n. [uncountable* the + ~] ]

2. that which exists only in the mind:
   confusing the imaginary with the real.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

im•ag•i•nar•y  (i maj′ə ner′ē), adj., n., pl. -ries. 
adj. 

1. existing only in the imagination or fancy;
   not real;
   fancied:
   an imaginary illness; the imaginary animals in the stories of Dr. Seuss.

n. 

2. Mathematics See imaginary number. 

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

im•ag′i•nar′i•ly, adv. 
im•ag′i•nar′i•ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. fanciful, visionary, shadowy, chimerical, baseless, illusory.

Antonyms

• 1. real.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

imaginary / ɪˈmædʒɪnərɪ -dʒɪnrɪ/ adjective

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

imˈaginarily adverb