Chimera is a word that originally described a fire-breathing monster from Greek myths—a lion with a goat sticking out of its back and a snake for a tail. Today it just means any mixed-up creature or idea that’s made from very different parts and doesn’t quite fit together.
People use it in everyday talk when something feels unreal or stitched together. A designer might call a half-table, half-chair a chimera. A scientist might say a lab-grown organ with human and pig cells is a chimera. Even your friend might joke that your coffee-pizza smoothie is a chimera of breakfast and dinner.
Meaning & Usage Examples
• “The startup’s marketing plan was a chimera of TikTok trends and old-school mail flyers.”
• “That car looks like a chimera—half SUV, half sports coupe.”
• “Biologists created a mouse with human immune cells; it’s a genetic chimera.”
Is chimera always about monsters?
No. Today it usually just means any mix of unlike parts, not a scary beast.
Can a person be called a chimera?
Yes. If someone has two different sets of DNA—say, from a twin that merged in the womb—they’re a human chimera.
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