imaginary
- 01 B1 Intermediate
adj.existing only in your mind or in a story, not in the real world.
adj.existing only in the imagination; lacking a basis in physical reality.
Simple“As a child, she had an imaginary friend who went everywhere with her.”
In context“The novelist created an imaginary kingdom with its own complex history and unique language to serve as the setting for the series.”
PitfallHe has an imaginative friend. He has an imaginary friend.Use 'imaginary' for things that aren't real. Use 'imaginative' to describe a person who has a good imagination.
- 02 C1 Advanced
adj.used to describe a type of number in math that is a multiple of the square root of minus one.
adj.relating to the part of a complex number that is a multiple of the imaginary unit (the square root of -1).
Simple“In this equation, 'i' represents an imaginary number.”
In context“The student struggled to visualize how imaginary numbers could be plotted on a complex plane alongside real numbers.”
UsageUsually placed before the noun 'number' or 'unit'.
Antonyms - 03 C2 Proficiency
n.the collection of ideas, symbols, and stories that a group of people share to understand their society.
n.the set of values, symbols, and institutions common to a social group through which they imagine their social whole.
Simple“The book explores the national imaginary of 19th-century France.”
In context“Scholars often discuss the 'social imaginary' to explain how modern citizens perceive their connection to millions of strangers within the same state.”
Teacher's tipThis is a highly specialized term in sociology and philosophy; learners will rarely encounter it in everyday conversation.
Synonymsethosworldview
From Middle English ymaginarie, ymagynary, from Latin imāginārius (“relating to images, fancied”), from imāgō, equivalent to imagine + -ary. The mathematical sense derives from René Descartes's use (of the French imaginaire) in 1637, La Geometrie, to ridicule the notion of regarding non-real roots of polynomials as numbers. Although Descartes' usage was derogatory, the designation stuck even after the concept gained acceptance in the 18th century.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.