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mythical creature

/ˌmɪθəkəl ˌkritʃər/
/ˈmɪθɪkəl ˈkritʃə/
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Other forms: mythical creatures

Definitions of mythical creature
  1. noun
    a monster renowned in folklore and myth
    synonyms: mythical monster
    see moresee less
    examples:
    Python
    (Greek mythology) dragon killed by Apollo at Delphi
    Eumenides
    (classical mythology) the hideous snake-haired monsters (usually three in number) who pursued unpunished criminals
    types:
    legendary creature
    a monster that is unverifiable but popularly accepted as possibly factual
    amphisbaena
    (classical mythology) a serpent with a head at each end of its body
    basilisk
    (classical mythology) a serpent (or lizard or dragon) able to kill with its breath or glance
    centaur
    (classical mythology) a mythical being that is half man and half horse
    Cerberus, hellhound
    (Greek mythology) the three-headed dog guarding the entrance to Hades; son of Typhon
    Chimaera, Chimera
    (Greek mythology) fire-breathing female monster with a lion's head and a goat's body and a serpent's tail; daughter of Typhon
    cockatrice
    monster hatched by a reptile from a cock's egg; able to kill with a glance
    dragon, firedrake
    a creature of Teutonic mythology; usually represented as breathing fire and having a reptilian body and sometimes wings
    Geryon
    (Greek mythology) a mythical monster with three heads that was slain by Hercules
    Gorgon
    (Greek mythology) any of three winged sister monsters and the mortal Medusa who had live snakes for hair; a glance at Medusa turned the beholder to stone
    griffin, griffon, gryphon
    winged monster with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion
    Harpy
    (Greek mythology) vicious winged monster; often depicted as a bird with the head of a woman
    Hydra
    (Greek mythology) monster with nine heads; when struck off each head was replaced by two new ones
    leviathan
    monstrous sea creature symbolizing evil in the Old Testament
    mantichora, manticora, manticore, mantiger
    a mythical monster having the head of man (with horns) and the body of a lion and the tail of a scorpion
    Minotaur
    (Greek mythology) a mythical monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man; slain by Theseus
    Nemean lion
    (Greek mythology) an enormous lion strangled by Hercules as the first of his 12 labors
    roc
    mythical bird of prey having enormous size and strength
    salamander
    reptilian creature supposed to live in fire
    Sphinx
    (Greek mythology) a riddling winged monster with a woman's head and breast on a lion's body; daughter of Typhon
    troll
    (Scandanavian folklore) a supernatural creature (either a dwarf or a giant) that is supposed to live in caves or in the mountains
    Typhoeus
    (Greek mythology) son of Gaea and Tartarus who created the whirlwinds; had a terrifying voice and 100 dragon heads that spurted fire
    Typhon
    (Greek mythology) a monster with a hundred heads who breathed out flames; son of Typhoeus and father of Cerberus and the Chimera and the Sphinx
    loup-garou, lycanthrope, werewolf, wolfman
    a monster able to change appearance from human to wolf and back again
    abominable snowman, yeti
    a large hairy humanoid creature said to live in the Himalayas
    doppelganger
    a ghostly double of a living person that haunts its living counterpart
    sea serpent
    huge creature of the sea resembling a snake or dragon
    Chiron
    (Greek mythology) the learned centaur who tutored Achilles, Asclepius, Hercules, Jason, and other heroes
    Medusa
    (Greek mythology) a woman transformed into a Gorgon by Athena; she was slain by Perseus
    Stheno
    (Greek mythology) one of the three Gorgons
    Euryale
    (Greek mythology) one of the three Gorgons
    wivern, wyvern
    a fire-breathing dragon used in medieval heraldry; had the head of a dragon and the tail of a snake and a body with wings and two legs
    type of:
    mythical being
    an imaginary being of myth or fable
    monster
    an imaginary creature usually having various human and animal parts
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