fanciful

1 of 2

adjective

fan·​ci·​ful ˈfan(t)-si-fəl 

1

: marked by fancy or unrestrained imagination rather than by reason and experience

a fanciful person

a fanciful tale of a monster in the woods

2

: existing in fancy (see fancy entry 2) only

a fanciful notion

the falsehoods about some fanciful secret treaties

—F. D. Roosevelt

3

: marked by or as if by fancy or whim

gave their children fanciful names

fancifully

ˈfan(t)-si-f(ə-)lē 

adverb

fancifulness

ˈfan(t)-si-fəl-nəs 

noun

fancifulness

2 of 2

noun

fan·​ci·​ful·​ness -fəlnə̇s 

plural -es

: fanciful quality : whimsicality

Synonyms of fanciful

Adjective

• bizarre
• absurd
• foolish
• unreal
• insane

Choose the Right Synonym for fanciful

imaginary, fanciful, visionary, fantastic, chimerical, quixotic mean unreal or unbelievable.

imaginary applies to something which is fictitious and purely the product of one's imagination.

an imaginary desert isle

fanciful suggests the free play of the imagination.

a teller of fanciful stories

visionary stresses impracticality or incapability of realization.

visionary schemes

fantastic implies incredibility or strangeness beyond belief.

a fantastic world inhabited by monsters

chimerical combines the implication of visionary and fantastic.

chimerical dreams of future progress

quixotic implies a devotion to romantic or chivalrous ideals unrestrained by ordinary prudence and common sense.

a quixotic crusade

Examples of fanciful in a Sentence

Adjective

a fanciful tale of a monster in the woods

They gave all their children fanciful names.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Immediately after alighting from its fanciful detour, Woods makes the odd decision to leave Emily’s perspective and lock into Sylvia’s. — Natalia Winkelman, Variety, 16 June 2026

In your 9th House of Travel, pleasure-loving Venus trines fanciful Neptune in your 5th House of Creativity, blending curiosity and fun into possibility today. — Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 16 June 2026

At a time when his peers were writing about fanciful balloon trips to other planets, Jules Verne dealt realistically with escape velocity, orbital slingshots, and course-correction burns. — Neil Oseman, Space.com, 14 June 2026

And that isn’t a fanciful price — tickets for the final have listed for far higher. — Stefan Szymanski, Fortune, 12 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

fancy entry 2 + -ful entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1627, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

fanciful

adjective

fan·​ci·​ful ˈfan(t)-si-fəl 

1

: having or showing free imagination rather than reason

a fanciful person

a fanciful tale

2

: existing in fancy only

a fanciful notion

fancifully

-f(ə-)lē 

adverb

fancifulness

-fəl-nəs 

noun