Definition of "imaginal" [im•ag•i•nal]

• Of, relating to, or having the form of an insect imago. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Corbin coined the word imaginal to name this other world."
• "She says that when a caterpillar encases itself in its cocoon, tiny cells called imaginal cells begin to appear within the chrysalis."
• "There's an imbalance between consumption and its metabolic needs and within the body of the caterpillar, there are a few cells that scientists refer to as the imaginal cells, as in they're imagining or dreaming a new reality."