Words / B1

i-MAJ-in-uh-ree/ɪˈmædʒɪnəri/

Imaginary means existing only in the mind: an imaginary fee; an imaginary friend. Imagination is the noun; imaginative means good at inventing (both nearby in this set). Unreal is wider. Do not mix with imaginative in marking — a plan can be imaginative and still real. Complaints: an imaginary fee that never appeared.

Meaning

Existing only in the mind; not real.

Examples

• “The complaint was about an imaginary fee that never appeared on the bill.”
• “The town on the map is imaginary, invented for the exam paper.”

Good to know

an imaginary fee / line / friend. Noun: imagination. Mix-up: imaginative (creative). Wider: unreal. Bills / exam maps. Not “creative”.

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