MYTHICAL Synonyms: 90 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'mythical' distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of mythical are apocryphal , fabulous , fictitious , and legendary . While all these words mean "having the nature of something imagined or invented," mythical implies a purely fanciful explanation of facts or the creation of beings and events out of the imagination. // mythical creatures

Q: When is 'apocryphal' a more appropriate choice than 'mythical'?

In some situations, the words apocryphal and mythical are roughly equivalent. However, apocryphal implies an unknown or dubious source or origin or may imply that the thing itself is dubious or inaccurate. // a book that repeats many apocryphal stories

Q: In what contexts can 'fabulous' take the place of 'mythical'?

While in some cases nearly identical to mythical , fabulous stresses the marvelous or incredible character of something without necessarily implying impossibility or actual nonexistence. // a land of fabulous riches

Q: When might 'fictitious' be a better fit than 'mythical'?

While the synonyms fictitious and mythical are close in meaning, fictitious implies fabrication and suggests artificiality or contrivance more than deliberate falsification or deception. // fictitious characters

Q: When can 'legendary' be used instead of 'mythical'?

The words legendary and mythical can be used in similar contexts, but legendary suggests the elaboration of invented details and distortion of historical facts produced by popular tradition. // the legendary exploits of Davy Crockett

mythical

adjective

ˈmi-thi-kəl

variants or mythic

Definition of mythical

as in legendary

based on, described in, or being a myth for years the Spanish conquistadors searched for the mythical El Dorado, a place of unimaginable riches

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in imaginary

not real and existing only in the imagination the mythical unicorn

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word mythical distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of mythical are apocryphal, fabulous, fictitious, and legendary. While all these words mean "having the nature of something imagined or invented," mythical implies a purely fanciful explanation of facts or the creation of beings and events out of the imagination.

mythical creatures

When is apocryphal a more appropriate choice than mythical?

In some situations, the words apocryphal and mythical are roughly equivalent. However, apocryphal implies an unknown or dubious source or origin or may imply that the thing itself is dubious or inaccurate.

a book that repeats many apocryphal stories

In what contexts can fabulous take the place of mythical?

While in some cases nearly identical to mythical, fabulous stresses the marvelous or incredible character of something without necessarily implying impossibility or actual nonexistence.

a land of fabulous riches

When might fictitious be a better fit than mythical?

While the synonyms fictitious and mythical are close in meaning, fictitious implies fabrication and suggests artificiality or contrivance more than deliberate falsification or deception.

fictitious characters

When can legendary be used instead of mythical?

The words legendary and mythical can be used in similar contexts, but legendary suggests the elaboration of invented details and distortion of historical facts produced by popular tradition.

the legendary exploits of Davy Crockett

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of mythical The American supermarket, with its endless array of products and innovations like the shopping cart and barcodes, has achieved an almost mythical status around the world. — Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2026 Such is the power of mythic literature that the creation has outlived his creator. — Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Aug. 2026 In crafting one of the best martial arts films of all time, Lee offers an expansive, mythic take on a genre too often confined to the grindhouse. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Aug. 2026 Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley was not conducting drills for a mythical win in a practice that will never find its way to his coaching record. — David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 13 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for mythical

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mythical

Adjective

These cards and subsequent ones also have rarity levels from rare all the way up to legendary.

— Gieson Cacho, Mercury News, 24 Aug. 2026
Looking at all acts, Drake and Taylor Swift sit side-by-side behind the legendary rock band with 15 leaders apiece.

— Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of legendary

Adjective

Out on a wooden platform extending over San Diego’s Mission Bay, young women sway from side to side, riding an imaginary wave to the beats.

— Kailyn Brown, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Just before the pandemic, Manhattan’s MCC Theater staged a show called All the Natalie Portmans, about a gay Black teenage cinephile who envisions the actor as a kind of manic pixie imaginary friend.

— Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of imaginary

Adjective

The fabled entertainer died after a series of health issues that led her to postpone several performing commitments.

— RJ Smith, Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Off in Motherland, Ted begins a career as a professor and thanks to some college campus confusion, gets closer to the fabled Mother than ever.

— Erin Strecker, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of fabled

Adjective

The first season was filmed in Wales and set in the fictional North Wales village of Morfa Halen.

— Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026
This is where the creation of the aforementioned fictional Barrow’s Green came about, which eventually came to life in the form of The Six Bells Inn.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of fictional

Adjective

The undercover analyst noted in a message that his fictitious 4-year-old brother would be home the next day, when the Perez meeting was expected.

— Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 Aug. 2026
Final testing relied on fictitious data instead of the real records of millions of residents.

— Komal Goyal, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of fictitious

Adjective

An imagined 2014 case involving State Farm was cited to convince a judge that the company was, ultimately, not responsible for covering all the damage to the plaintiff’s home.

— Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2026
Anemoia is essentially an imagined memory, a longing built from movies, photographs, and secondhand stories rather than lived experience.

— Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of imagined

Adjective

Peter [Merry] likes to use is that, when a caterpillar is becoming a butterfly, new ‘imaginal cells’ emerge.

— Big Think, Big Think, 7 Aug. 2025
With one technique, for example—called imaginal exposure—you might be asked to visualize the process of going to the airport, boarding the plane, and experiencing a bad bout of turbulence.

— Angela Haupt, TIME, 10 May 2024

Definition of imaginal

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“Mythical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mythical. Accessed 29 Aug. 2026.

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