fanciful

adjective

fan·ci·ful | \ ˈfan(t)-si-fəl

Definition of fanciful

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

Other Words from fanciful Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More About fanciful

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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

a fanciful tale of a monster in the woods They gave all their children fanciful names.

Recent Examples on the Web But there is no evidence for any of these assertions, and some ancient biographies of Homer are obviously fanciful. — Adam Kirsch, The New Yorker, 7 June 2021 Throughout Here, a luminous collection of 27 poems, Szymborska indulges in fanciful thought experiments and imagines surreal conversations (with her younger self, with an idea, with her own memory). — The Atlantic Culture Desk, The Atlantic, 28 May 2021 Paolo Soleri consists of structures both striking and fanciful. — Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 12 May 2021 Average, everyday people are selling us toiletries and underwear, designer handbags and wondrously fanciful frocks. — Washington Post, 12 May 2021 The pictures are strangely soothing, with their fanciful palettes, evocative silhouettes, and enticing water features. — Anna Wiener, The New Yorker, 6 May 2021 Airborne turtles that strike cars are the stuff of fanciful (yet real) stories and not a matter that needs to preoccupy your mind while at the steering wheel of a moving car. — Lance Eliot, Forbes, 6 May 2021 In the gray light of a Manhattan winter and against the overarching cynicism of the times, my ideas, spoken aloud in class or over coffee with friends, came off as fanciful and far-fetched. — Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2021 Horses are the stars of the show at the Kentucky Derby, but the number of vibrant and fanciful hats on display at Churchill Downs on Saturday might be the best way to measure how close the iconic race is to returning to normal. — Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fanciful.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.