Meaning of imaginary friend | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A nonexistent person, the subject of a friendship or other interpersonal relationship taking place in the imagination rather than in physical reality.
2. A deity or higher power, particularly the Abrahamic God.
   broadly, derogatory, sarcastic

Equivalents

Examples

“Sometimes the Christians talk⟳ to their imaginary friend, Jesus, when they are alone.”

“But what was God doing while Katrina laid waste⟳ to their city? Surely He heard the prayers of those elderly men and women who fled the rising waters for the safety of their attics, only to be slowly drowned there. […] These poor people died talking to an imaginary friend.”

“(This is ironic in that Darwin, with his long beard and deep-set eyes, looks a bit like⟳ the imaginary friend of many a believer.)”

CEFR level