Imaginary and Illusory

Imaginary

Imaginary adjective - Not real and existing only in the imagination.
Usage example: told by the psychologist that it was perfectly normal for their child to have an imaginary friend

Illusory is a synonym for imaginary in ideal topic. In some cases you can use "Illusory" instead an adjective "Imaginary", when it comes to topics like vision, fictional, fictitious, phantasmal. popular alternative

Nearby Words: imagination, imaginative

Illusory

Illusory adjective - Based on or having the nature of an illusion.

Imaginary is a synonym for illusory in ideal topic. You can use "Imaginary" instead an adjective "Illusory", if it concerns topics such as vision, deceptive, unreal, phantasmal. popular alternative

Nearby Words: illusion, illusive, illusorily
Cite this Source
Illusory and Imaginary. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/imaginary/illusory
Imaginary & Illusory. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/imaginary/illusory>.
Illusory or Imaginary. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/imaginary/illusory.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "imaginary" and "illusory" have occurred on timeline