as in illusion
a conception or image created by the imagination and having no objective reality
a monster in the closet would not have been the first chimera that the boy had seen in his mind's eye
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Recent Examples of chimera
The chimera of another righteous military triumph cannot fix what ails the United States.
—
Andrew J. Bacevich, Foreign Affairs, 28 Feb. 2023
Yet, the reality is starkly different: Such a formula is a chimera.
—Pankaj Vasani, Forbes, 9 Sep. 2024
The miraculous, revolutionary returns from AI are very likely to remain a chimera.
—Daron Acemoglu, Fortune, 6 Aug. 2024
In seeking a progressive agenda that somehow never aligned with secular trends, Circle was chasing a chimera.
—Harper's Magazine, 25 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for chimera 
Andrew J. Bacevich, Foreign Affairs, 28 Feb. 2023
Yet, the reality is starkly different: Such a formula is a chimera.
—Pankaj Vasani, Forbes, 9 Sep. 2024
The miraculous, revolutionary returns from AI are very likely to remain a chimera.
—Daron Acemoglu, Fortune, 6 Aug. 2024
In seeking a progressive agenda that somehow never aligned with secular trends, Circle was chasing a chimera.
—Harper's Magazine, 25 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for chimera
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chimera
Noun
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Part of the show’s magic is that performers can literally be anybody or anything and the listener completes the illusion with their mind’s eye.Tim Greiving, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2024
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The illusion of the regime's power was as important to Assad as Saydnaya prison, as the multiple branches of the intelligence services, military brigades and their brutal physical force.James Longman, ABC News, 10 Dec. 2024
Noun
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After an overtime Super Bowl win, a star tight end kissed his girlfriend, the world's most successful pop star, as confetti flew—the stuff dreams are made of.Gord Magill, Newsweek, 22 Dec. 2024
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For years, he’s been trading their good, young players and draft picks for a dream.Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 21 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Oh, and actually, Week 17 fantasy football rankings, too.Jake Ciely, The Athletic, 25 Dec. 2024
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This isn’t the first time the artist has obfuscated accounts of his past: Both his memoir and a 2019 documentary directed by Martin Scorsese blur the line between fact and fantasy.Grant Wong, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Bohemian daydream Boho’s been back for almost a year now, but spring’s best runways have taken the aesthetic in its dreamiest direction yet.Jake Henry Smith, Glamour, 18 Dec. 2024
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The series was often praised for its cutaway sequences tied to the daydreams of Braff’s character, J.D., with Braff also serving as the series’ narrator.Joe Otterson, Variety, 5 Dec. 2024
Noun
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As the season closed, Kat returned to her time and said goodbye to a vision of Thomas, thinking that he had been shot dead, but then Jacob appeared and revealed that Thomas survived.Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 25 Dec. 2024
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Though there is variation depending on the locale, on the whole, the color-happy interiors in the show are closer to the idealistic vision of homes displayed in the era’s advertisements.Rachel Davies, Architectural Digest, 24 Dec. 2024
Noun
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With scary precision, the playwright captures the delusion that roots itself in families who use faith to control.Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Dec. 2024
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Corcoran is under the paranoid delusion that prison guards are torturing him with sound waves.Kristine Phillips, The Indianapolis Star, 6 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near chimera
Cite this Entry
“Chimera.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chimera. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.
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