Basic Details
Word: Imaginary
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Existing only in the mind and not in real life.
Synonyms: unreal, made-up, fictional, pretend
Antonyms: real, actual
How to Spell Imaginary
Syllables: i - mag - i - nar - y
Tricky part: The ending is -ary, not -ery, and there is only one m at the start.
Watch out for: imaginery, immaginary, imagenary
Memory tip: Imaginary ends like dictionary and library. Picture an imaginary library full of dictionaries, and all three words end in -ary.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Little Kabir blamed every broken toy on an imaginary friend called Bholu.
Example 2: The dragon in the story is imaginary, but the fort it guards is real.
Example 3: Some fears are imaginary, yet they still keep us awake at night.
Fun Fact
In maths, the square root of minus one is called an imaginary number; Rene Descartes used the word imaginary for such numbers in 1637.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word imaginary as used in the sentence:
During the long train ride, the twins played cricket with an imaginary ball and bat.
a) invented
b) fanciful
c) real
d) secret
Show answer
c) real. Something imaginary exists only in the mind, so real is the opposite; invented and fanciful are close in meaning.
Word Cookie
Fill in the missing letters to complete the word:
im_gin_ry
a) a, e
b) e, a
c) a, o
d) a, a
Show answer
d) a, a. Imagine gives the first a, and the ending is -ary, as in dictionary.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
The equator is an ryganimai line that circles the Earth halfway between the two poles.
a) imaginary
b) ordinary
c) imagined
d) original
Show answer
a) imaginary. The jumble has a y and no d or o, which rules out imagined, ordinary and original.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Something imaginary can be found ____.
a) in every city zoo
b) at the bottom of the sea
c) only in the mind or in stories
d) on a railway timetable
Show answer
c) only in the mind or in stories
2. Which of these is imaginary?
a) a tiger in the Sundarbans
b) a peacock in a mango grove
c) a camel in the Thar Desert
d) a unicorn in a fairy tale
Show answer
d) a unicorn in a fairy tale
