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imaginary
5 dictionary results for: Imaginary
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
im·ag·i·nar·y       [i-maj-uh-ner-ee] Pronunciation Key adjective, noun, plural -ries.
–adjective
1.existing only in the imagination or fancy; not real; fancied: an imaginary illness; the imaginary animals in the stories of Dr. Seuss.
–noun
2.Mathematics. imaginary number.
[Origin: 1350–1400; ME < L imāginārius, equiv. to imāgin-, (s. of imāgō) image + -ārius -ary]

—Related forms
im·ag·i·nar·i·ly, adverb
im·ag·i·nar·i·ness, noun

—Synonyms 1. fanciful, visionary, shadowy, chimerical, baseless, illusory.
—Antonyms 1. real.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
i·mag·i·nar·y       (ĭ-māj'ə-něr'ē)  Pronunciation Key 
adj.  
  1. Having existence only in the imagination; unreal.
  2. Mathematics
    1. Of or being the coefficient of the imaginary unit in a complex number.
    2. Of, involving, or being an imaginary number.
    3. Involving only a complex number of which the real part is zero.

n.   pl. i·mag·i·nar·ies Mathematics
An imaginary number.

i·mag'i·nar'i·ly adv., i·mag'i·nar'i·ness n.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
imaginary

adjective
1. not based on fact; unreal; "the falsehood about some fanciful secret treaties"- F.D.Roosevelt; "a small child's imaginary friends"; "to create a notional world for oneself" [syn: fanciful] 

noun
1. (mathematics) a number of the form a+bi where a and b are real numbers and i is the square root of -1 [syn: complex number] 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Imaginary

Im*ag"i*na*ry\, a. [L. imaginarius: cf. F. imaginaire.] Existing only in imagination or fancy; not real; fancied; visionary; ideal.

Wilt thou add to all the griefs I suffer Imaginary ills and fancied tortures? --Addison.

Imaginary calculus See under Calculus.

Imaginary expression or quantity (Alg.), an algebraic expression which involves the impossible operation of taking the square root of a negative quantity; as, [root]-9, a + b [root]-1.

Imaginary points, lines, surfaces, etc. (Geom.), points, lines, surfaces, etc., imagined to exist, although by reason of certain changes of a figure they have in fact ceased to have a real existence.

Syn: Ideal; fanciful; chimerical; visionary; fancied; unreal; illusive.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Imaginary

Im*ag"i*na*ry\, n. (Alg.) An imaginary expression or quantity.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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