chimera
chi·me·ra/kaɪˈmɪɹə/noun
chimera is spelled C-H-I-M-E-R-A: 7 letters and 3 syllables (chi·me·ra). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,912th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, chimera means “Alternative letter-case form of Chimera, a supposed monster in Lycia with the head of a lion, body of a goat, and tail of a dragon or serpent, killed…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of chimera is chimeras.
How many letters and syllables are in chimera?
| Letters | 7: C-H-I-M-E-R-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: chi·me·ra |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,912th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is chimera?
Chimera appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,912th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce chimera?
- US /kaɪˈmɪɹə/
- US /kəˈmɪɹə/
- US /kaɪˈmerə/
Chimera has 3 syllables, split chi·me·ra in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-chimera.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with chimera?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as chimera from its last stressed vowel (/ɪɹə/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of chimera
- chimeras plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does chimera mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Alternative letter-case form of Chimera, a supposed monster in Lycia with the head of a lion, body of a goat, and tail of a dragon or serpent, killed by the hero Bellerophon.
...beestis clepid chymeres, that han a part of ech beest, and suche ben not, no but oonly in opynyoun...
- 2
Any fantastic creature combining parts from different animals.
- 3
A foolish, incongruous, or vain thought or product of the imagination.
- 4
Anything composed of very disparate parts.
He built his car one piece at a time, producing a chimera with the head of a Volkswagen, the body of a Geely, and the tail of an aftermarket Porsche.
- 5
A grotesque like a gargoyle, but without a spout for rainwater.
- 6
An organism with genetically distinct cells originating from two or more zygotes.
The DNA test returned a false negative because the killer was a chimera, having absorbed her twin in utero.
- 7
Alternative form of chimaera, a cartilaginous marine fish in the subclass Holocephali and especially the order Chimaeriformes, with a blunt snout, long tail, and a spine before the first dorsal fin.
- 8
Synonym of bogeyman: any terrifying thing, especially as an unreal, imagined threat.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Chimera in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does chimera come from?
Variant of Middle English chimere, chymere, & chymera under renewed Latin influence from the 16th century, from French chimère, from Latin Chimaera, from Ancient Greek Χίμαιρα (Khímaira, “fire-breathing mythological monster, fire-spewing Lycian or Cilician mountain”), from χίμαιρα (khímaira, “she-goat”, from χίμαρος (khímaros, “male goat”) + -α (-a)), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰey-. In reference to the fish, directly from Latin Chimaera, used by Linnaeus. In reference to organisms with distinct areas of different genetic makeups, a calque of German Chimäre, used by Hans Winkler in 1907.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).