mythic
mythic — adjective
- mythicpositive
- more mythiccomparative
- most mythicsuperlative
1. connected with the characters, places, or events of ancient traditional stories,
connected with the characters, places, or events of ancient traditional stories, rather than with ordinary recorded history.
The game studio filled its new trailer with mythic beasts and ruined temples.
mythic + noun for creatures and settings
Professor Chen compared the island's caves to a mythic underworld in class.
compare something to a mythic place
Children at the library painted a mythic sea horse with silver wings.
The film opens with a mythic king walking out of the mountain mist.
- mythical
very close in meaning; mythical is more common in everyday English
- mythological
more formal and often used for a system of myths, not a single figure
- legendary
can overlap for heroes or monsters, but often adds admiration
- historical
based on events that are treated as real history
- real
existing in the actual world
文法句型
mythic + noun
be + mythic
用法筆記
Usually describes creatures, rulers, places, or objects that belong to a story tradition. Distinguish from sense 3: this sense points to old tales or legends, not just something false or invented.
常見錯誤
2. so striking, important, or admired that people speak about it as if it belonged
so striking, important, or admired that people speak about it as if it belonged in legend.
After two rescues at sea, Captain Noor gained a mythic reputation locally.
mythic reputation for admired deeds
Fans waited outside for a glimpse of the striker's mythic left foot.
The singer's homecoming concert took on mythic status across the town.
In family stories, Uncle Wei's bicycle trip across Tibet became almost mythic.
文法句型
mythic + noun
take on mythic status
become almost mythic
用法筆記
This sense is about real people or events whose importance grows through repeated retelling. Distinguish from sense 1: the subject here is real, not a figure from ancient stories.
常見錯誤
3. imagined or claimed to exist, but not actually real or supported by facts.
imagined or claimed to exist, but not actually real or supported by facts.
The article repeated a mythic cure for migraines that doctors reject.
mythic + cure for false claims
Investors chased a mythic buyer who was never going to appear.
Mira stopped waiting for the mythic perfect moment to start her business.
The mayor sold voters a mythic plan that fixed traffic for free.
- imaginary
neutral and common for things that exist only in the mind
- fictitious
more formal and often used in legal or factual contexts
- invented
stresses that someone made the story or claim up
文法句型
mythic + noun
be + mythic
用法筆記
Often appears in formal or critical writing when a writer dismisses a claim as unreal, invented, or unsupported. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense questions whether the thing exists at all.