chimerical
adjective
chi·me·ri·cal kī-ˈmer-i-kəl 
kə-,
-ˈmir-
variants or less commonly chimeric
kī-ˈmer-ik
kə-,
-ˈmir-
1
: existing only as the product of unchecked imagination : fantastically visionary (see visionary entry 1 sense 2) or improbable
chimerical dreams of economic stability
2
: given to fantastic schemes
She's a chimerical optimist infused with utopian visions.
3
usually chimeric
a
: relating to, derived from, or being a genetic chimera : containing tissue with two or more genetically distinct populations of cells
Chimeric mice are generated by mixing cells from two embryos, generating a mouse with four parental contributions.
Nancy L. Nadon
Nancy L. Nadon b
: composed of material (such as DNA or polypeptide) from more than one organism
He combined this gene material with safer human DNA and created what's known as a chimeric gene—a gene of antibody instructions that is part man, part mouse. Eric Hand
Eric Hand chimerically
kī-ˈmer-i-k(ə-)lē
adverb kə-
-ˈmir-
Synonyms
- fabulous
- fanciful
- fantasied
- fantastic
- fantastical
- fictional
- fictitious
- ideal
- imaginal
- imaginary
- imagined
- invented
- made-up
- make-believe
- mythical
- mythic
- notional
- phantasmal
- phantasmic
- phantom
- pretend
- unreal
- visionary
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
for the time being, interplanetary travel remains a chimerical feature of life in the 21st century
Recent Examples on the Web There was a serene, domestic quality to the scene that felt as enchanted as Natasha’s picnic area: an eddy of calm, however chimerical, carved out of mayhem. Luke Mogelson, The New Yorker, 23 July 2022 Guardiola himself had acknowledged that before the game, half in jest, suggesting that there was not a vast amount of point in conducting the usual, instinctive analysis of Real Madrid because Ancelotti’s team is, by its very nature, so chimerical. New York Times, 26 Apr. 2022 In his eyes, though, speed is not where true value lies in a social media world, and particularly in that portion of it devoted to soccer’s chaotic, contradictory and often chimerical transfer market. New York Times, 24 Jan. 2022 To put it in biblical terms, the line between obeying God and playing God is as blurry as that between domesticating animals for agriculture and creating chimerical creatures in laboratories. Mark O’connell, The New York Review of Books, 22 July 2021 To put it in biblical terms, the line between obeying God and playing God is as blurry as that between domesticating animals for agriculture and creating chimerical creatures in laboratories. Mark O’connell, The New York Review of Books, 22 July 2021 To put it in biblical terms, the line between obeying God and playing God is as blurry as that between domesticating animals for agriculture and creating chimerical creatures in laboratories. Mark O’connell, The New York Review of Books, 22 July 2021 To put it in biblical terms, the line between obeying God and playing God is as blurry as that between domesticating animals for agriculture and creating chimerical creatures in laboratories. Mark O’connell, The New York Review of Books, 22 July 2021 To put it in biblical terms, the line between obeying God and playing God is as blurry as that between domesticating animals for agriculture and creating chimerical creatures in laboratories. Mark O’connell, The New York Review of Books, 22 July 2021 See More
Luke Mogelson, The New Yorker, 23 July 2022 Guardiola himself had acknowledged that before the game, half in jest, suggesting that there was not a vast amount of point in conducting the usual, instinctive analysis of Real Madrid because Ancelotti’s team is, by its very nature, so chimerical. New York Times, 26 Apr. 2022 In his eyes, though, speed is not where true value lies in a social media world, and particularly in that portion of it devoted to soccer’s chaotic, contradictory and often chimerical transfer market. New York Times, 24 Jan. 2022 To put it in biblical terms, the line between obeying God and playing God is as blurry as that between domesticating animals for agriculture and creating chimerical creatures in laboratories. Mark O’connell, The New York Review of Books, 22 July 2021 To put it in biblical terms, the line between obeying God and playing God is as blurry as that between domesticating animals for agriculture and creating chimerical creatures in laboratories. Mark O’connell, The New York Review of Books, 22 July 2021 To put it in biblical terms, the line between obeying God and playing God is as blurry as that between domesticating animals for agriculture and creating chimerical creatures in laboratories. Mark O’connell, The New York Review of Books, 22 July 2021 To put it in biblical terms, the line between obeying God and playing God is as blurry as that between domesticating animals for agriculture and creating chimerical creatures in laboratories. Mark O’connell, The New York Review of Books, 22 July 2021 To put it in biblical terms, the line between obeying God and playing God is as blurry as that between domesticating animals for agriculture and creating chimerical creatures in laboratories. Mark O’connell, The New York Review of Books, 22 July 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
chimera
First Known Use
1638, in the meaning defined at sense 1
chimerical
adjective
variants also chimeric
as in mythical
not real and existing only in the imagination for the time being, interplanetary travel remains a chimerical feature of life in the 21st century Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- mythical
- fantastical
- mythic
- fictitious
- fictional
- fanciful
- imaginary
- imagined
- phantasmal
- theoretical
- phantom
- fantastic
- legendary
- phantasmic
- unreal
- fantasied
- fabulous
- ideal
- visualized
- theoretic
- notional
- invented
- made-up
- visionary
- make-believe
- imaginal
- pretend
- hypothetical
- abstract
- illusory
- delusive
- romantic
- fabled
- envisioned
- phantasmagoric
- unlikely
- unconvincing
- hallucinatory
- conceived
- deceptive
- phantasmagorical
- envisaged
- fictive
- unbelievable
- concocted
- delusional
- pictured
- nonexistent
- fabricated
- feigned
- daydreamlike
- inexistent
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- real
- actual
- true
- existing
- genuine
- existent
- realistic
- authentic
- convincing
- factual
- verifiable
- substantial
- believable
- corporeal
- solid
- physical
- tangible
- material
- palpable
- verified
Synonym Chooser
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
The synonyms fanciful and chimerical are sometimes interchangeable, but fanciful suggests the free play of the imagination.
a teller of fanciful stories
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
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
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
While in some cases nearly identical to chimerical, visionary stresses impracticality or incapability of realization.
visionary schemes