imagination (redirected from imaginational)

by any stretch of the imagination

as much as anyone could imagine; as much as is imaginable. (Often negative.) I don't see how anyone by any stretch of the imagination could fail to understand what my last sentence meant.

See also: any, stretch

capture someone's imagination

Fig. to intrigue someone; to interest someone in a lasting way; to stimulate someone's imagination. The story of the young wizard has captured the imagination of the world's children.

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not by any stretch of the imagination  also by no stretch of the imagination

if you say that by no stretch of the imagination can you describe something or someone in a particular way, you mean that this way of describing them is certainly not correct She was never a great player, not by any stretch of the imagination. He's pleasant looking but by no stretch of the imagination could you describe him as handsome.

See bend the rules

See also: any, stretch

a flight of fancy/fantasy/imagination

an idea which shows a lot of imagination but which is not practical or useful in real situations You were talking about cycling across the US, or was that just another flight of fancy?

See also: fancy, flight

be a figment of your/the imagination

if something is a figment of your imagination, it seems real although it is not I thought I saw someone standing in the shadows, but it was just a figment of my imagination.

See also: figment

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a figment of your imagination also a figment of the imagination

something created by your mind I thought I saw someone standing in the shadows, but it was just a figment of my imagination.

See also: figment