imaginary

Pluralimaginaries

1. 1
   adjective

   Existing only in the mind, not in real life.

   Like a dragon you dream up in your head: it feels real, but it isn't there.

   Her little brother has an imaginary friend named Pip.

   The game took place in an imaginary world with talking animals.

   Similarfictional, fictitious, invented, made-up, pretend

   Oppositereal, actual

   Note
2. 2
   adjective

   In math, describing a number that is a multiple of the square root of minus one.

   In class we learned about imaginary numbers like 2i and 5i.

   An imaginary value times itself gives a negative answer.

   Oppositereal

   Note
3. 3
   nouncountable

   A number that is a multiple of the square root of minus one, with no real part.

   On the test, we had to add two imaginaries together.

   The calculator can handle an imaginary just as easily as a whole number.

   Note
4. 4
   nouncountable

   The shared ideas, rules, and symbols a group uses to picture itself as one whole society.

   Like the shared story a team tells about who they are and what they stand for.

   Every nation has an imaginary that holds its people together.

   Festivals and flags are part of a country's imaginary.

   Note
5. 5
   noununcountable

   The ability to make pictures and ideas in your mind.

   Like a paint set inside your head for making new ideas.

   Her imaginary filled the empty house with stories and voices.

   A child's imaginary turns a cardboard box into a spaceship.

   Similarimagination, fancy

   Note

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