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

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

chimerically

kī-ˈmer-i-k(ə-)lē 

kə-

-ˈmir-

adverb

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

Choose the Right Synonym for chimerical

imaginary, fanciful, visionary, fantastic, chimerical, quixotic mean unreal or unbelievable.

imaginary applies to something which is fictitious and purely the product of one's imagination.

an imaginary desert isle

fanciful suggests the free play of the imagination.

a teller of fanciful stories

visionary stresses impracticality or incapability of realization.

visionary schemes

fantastic implies incredibility or strangeness beyond belief.

a fantastic world inhabited by monsters

chimerical combines the implication of visionary and fantastic.

chimerical dreams of future progress

quixotic implies a devotion to romantic or chivalrous ideals unrestrained by ordinary prudence and common sense.

a quixotic crusade

Examples of chimerical in a Sentence

for the time being, interplanetary travel remains a chimerical feature of life in the 21st century

Recent Examples on the Web

The contrast is powerful, drawing attention to the chimerical nature of her quest. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 8 Nov. 2024

Doing so risks indulging the chimerical hope that once liberal democracy has spread throughout the world, strategic competition will end and the United States can peacefully collaborate with like-minded states in a secure globe. —Elbridge Colby, Foreign Affairs, 4 Sep. 2020

The competition in both can be fierce, and the rewards can be chimerical, to put it gently. —Max Winter, Washington Post, 23 July 2024

Claims made for the abilities or perils of AI chatbots have often turned out to be mistaken or chimerical. —Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 13 July 2023

Word History

Etymology

chimera

First Known Use

1638, in the meaning defined at sense 1