Mythical describes something that comes from myths — old traditional stories, often about gods, magical creatures, or ancient heroes — rather than being real or historically true. A mythical creature, like a dragon or a unicorn, exists only in stories and imagination, not in real life. People also use 'mythical' more loosely for anything that feels legendary, almost too perfect or impossible to be real — 'the mythical work-life balance', joking that it might not actually exist.