phantasmagoricaladj.
/ˌfantazməˈɡɒrᵻkl/, /fanˌtazməˈɡɒrᵻkl/, U.S. /fænˌtæzməˈɡɔrək(ə)l/ Phantasmagoric.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > fancy or fantastic notion > deceptive fancy or illusion > [adjective] > phantasmagoria
phantasmagoric1813
phantasmagorial1822
phantasmagoriacal1823
phantasmagorian1827
phantasmagorical1828
1828 W. Scott Jrnl. 17 Apr. (1941) 226 In this phantasmagorical place [sc. London] the objects of the day come and depart like shadows.
1852 N. Hawthorne Blithedale Romance Pref. p. iv To establish a theatre..where the creatures of his brain may play their phantasmagorical antics.
1873 M. Arnold Lit. & Dogma xi. 338 The reality of things is flat and insipid to them, although it is in truth far grander than the phantasmagorical world of novels and opium.
1927 H. T. Lowe-Porter tr. T. Mann Magic Mountain (London ed.) I. i. 5 A magnificent succession of vistas opened before the awed eye, of the solemn, phantasmagorical world of towering peaks.
1978 Listener 9 Nov. 622/4 A phantasmagorical complication of Chinese boxes.
2001 Wire June 68/2 They lurch into a series of low slung, psychedelic/grindcore anthems with plenty of free noodling guitar splutter and foaming phantasmagorical lyrics.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1828