fanciful

play

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 ²fancy) 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

play \ˈfan(t)-si-f(ə-)lē\ adverb

—

fancifulness

play \ˈfan(t)-si-fəl-nəs\ noun

See fanciful defined for English-language learners

See fanciful defined for kids

Examples of fanciful in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of fanciful from the Web

There is a twitter account, @unchartedatlas, which tweets out randomly composed maps with fanciful names like The Lowlands of Reschtschluk and The Southern Archipelago of West Siastus.

— adrian daub, Longreads, "Here at the End of All Things," 24 Aug. 2017
That’s not even the most fanciful twist in Homestead’s plans, though.

— andres viglucci and monique o. madan, miamiherald, "Post-Hurricane Andrew destruction, Homestead is reinventing itself," 20 Aug. 2017
If that concern seems fanciful, think back to the summer of 2016, when British mutual property funds had to suspend redemptions in the wake of the EU referendum vote.

— The Economist, "ButtonwoodCould bond funds break the market?," 20 July 2017
The idea that such information would be unearthed by these particular discovery requests is, to put it charitably, fanciful.

— jack greiner, Cincinnati.com, "Greiner: California can't get IMDb data," 20 July 2017
Del Mar’s yearly parade of flowery, feathery and fanciful headpieces has been a racetrack tradition since 1995.

— michele parente, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Del Mar brimming with fab hats," 19 July 2017
Meanwhile, the problems that the fanciful new bipartisan consensus was supposed to solve continue to multiply.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "Jeff Sessions, Civil Forfeiture, What Could Go Wrong?," 18 July 2017
The fanciful Curse of the Bambino was in great measure among those players the Curse of the Colonel.

— charles p. pierce, SI.com, "David Price should look at Red Sox history and see why battling Boston's media won't work," 14 July 2017
Among the 900 or so objects on display is the large, fanciful 19th-century Great Clock of America.

— roger catlin, Smithsonian, "Renovated Museum Wing Delves into Untold Chapters of American History," 1 July 2017

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.

First Known Use of fanciful

circa 1627

fanciful Synonyms

Synonyms

absurd, bizarre, crazy, fantastic, foolish, insane, nonsensical, preposterous, unreal, wild

Antonyms

realistic, reasonable

Related Words

implausible, inconceivable, incredible, unbelievable, unimaginable, unthinkable; extravagant, grotesque; bizarro, curious, eccentric, far-out, funny, kinky, kooky (also kookie), odd, outlandish, out-of-the-way, outré, peculiar, quaint, queer, queerish, quirky, screwy, strange, wacky (also whacky), way-out, weird; farcical, laughable, ludicrous, ridiculous; Alice-in-Wonderland, Kafkaesque, nightmarish; dreamlike, surreal

Near Antonyms

authentic, genuine, true; factual, verifiable, verified; believable, convincing, realistic; corporeal, material, physical, solid, substantial; palpable, tangible

Synonym Discussion of 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

FANCIFUL Defined for English Language Learners

fanciful

play

adjective

Definition of fanciful for English Language Learners

: coming from the imagination
: showing imagination : unusual and appealing

FANCIFUL Defined for Kids

fanciful

play

adjective fan·ci·ful \ ˈfan-si-fəl \

Definition of fanciful for Students

1 :showing free use of the imagination

a fanciful tale

2 :coming from imagination rather than reason

He dreamed up a fanciful plan for getting rich.

—

fancifully

\-fə-lē\ adverb

Learn More about fanciful

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for fanciful Spanish Central: Translation of fanciful Nglish: Translation of fanciful for Spanish speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up fanciful? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

fanciful

Definition of fanciful

fancifully

fancifulness

Explore Merriam-Webster

Examples of fanciful in a Sentence

Recent Examples of fanciful from the Web

First Known Use of fanciful

fanciful Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

Synonym Discussion of fanciful

FANCIFUL Defined for English Language Learners

fanciful

Definition of fanciful for English Language Learners

FANCIFUL Defined for Kids

fanciful

Definition of fanciful for Students

fancifully

Learn More about fanciful

Seen and Heard

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games

Breathing Life Into 'Inspire'

Trending: Kim Jong Un: Trump a 'Dotard'

These Are Fighting Words

Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!

Words of the Year: 1066