diff --git a/bin/main.ml b/bin/main.ml
index 2ab2160..ddb6973 100644
--- a/bin/main.ml
+++ b/bin/main.ml
@@ -46,12 +46,13 @@ let main =
   let doc = "Generate an ATD file from a list of JSON Schema / OpenAPI document" in
   let state_term =
     Term.(
-      const (fun skip_doc pad toplevel_types ->
+      const (fun skip_doc pad toplevel_types avoid_dangling_refs ->
         Generator.
           {
             with_doc = not skip_doc;
             protect_against_duplicates = (if pad then Some (ref []) else None);
             toplevel_types;
+            avoid_dangling_refs;
           }
       )
       $ Arg.(value (flag (info [ "skip-doc" ] ~doc:"Skip documentation annotations.")))
@@ -64,6 +65,7 @@ let main =
             value (opt_all string [] (info [ "only-matching" ] ~docv:"REGEXP" ~doc:"Only output types matching REGEXP."))
           )
         )
+      $ Arg.(value (flag (info [ "avoid-dangling-refs" ] ~doc:"Convert dangling refs to json.")))
     )
   in
   let paths = Arg.(non_empty & pos_all file [] & info [] ~docv:"FILES" ~doc) in
diff --git a/lib/generator.ml b/lib/generator.ml
index b7d1be1..03f9b4f 100644
--- a/lib/generator.ml
+++ b/lib/generator.ml
@@ -6,9 +6,11 @@ type state = {
   with_doc : bool;
   protect_against_duplicates : string list ref option;
   toplevel_types : [ `All | `Only of string list ];
+  avoid_dangling_refs : bool;
 }
 
-let default_state = { with_doc = true; protect_against_duplicates = None; toplevel_types = `All }
+let default_state =
+  { with_doc = true; protect_against_duplicates = None; toplevel_types = `All; avoid_dangling_refs = false }
 
 let record_field_name _state str =
   let cleaned_field_name = Utils.sanitize_name str in
@@ -232,7 +234,14 @@ and make_type_from_schema_or_ref state ~ancestors (schema_or_ref : schema or_ref
   match schema_or_ref, ancestors with
   | Obj schema, ([] | [ _ ]) -> process_schema_type state ~ancestors schema
   | Obj schema, ancestors -> process_nested_schema_type state ~ancestors schema
-  | Ref ref_, _ -> type_name (get_ref_name ref_)
+  | Ref ref_, _ -> begin
+    match
+      (not state.avoid_dangling_refs)
+      || List.exists (fun (name, _schema) -> String.equal (get_ref_name ref_) name) !input_toplevel_schemas
+    with
+    | true -> type_name (get_ref_name ref_)
+    | false -> Printf.sprintf "json (* %s *)" (String.concat "/" (List.rev ancestors))
+  end
 
 and process_one_of state ~ancestors (schemas_or_refs : schema or_ref list) =
   let determine_variant_name = function