Hypertext Webster Gateway: "imaginary"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
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.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Imaginary \Im*ag"i*na*ry\, n. (Alg.)
An imaginary expression or quantity.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
imaginary
adj : not based on fact; dubious; "the falsehood about some
fanciful secret treaties"- F.D.Roosevelt; "a small
child's imaginary friends"; "her imagined fame"; "to
create a notional world for oneself" [syn: {fanciful},
{imagined}, {notional}]
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