Synonyms of fancy

fancy 1 of 3

adjective

1

as in excessive

going beyond a normal or acceptable limit in degree or amount

decided they would rather go without dinner than pay the hotel restaurant's fancy prices

Synonyms & Similar Words

• excessive
• extravagant
• extreme
• steep
• insane
• lavish
• endless
• infinite
• baroque
• exorbitant
• over-the-top
• undue
• inordinate
• plethoric
• devilish
• immoderate
• intolerable
• inappropriate
• unconscionable
• stiff
• overmuch
• overextravagant
• overdue
• unbearable
• towering
• unmerciful
• overweening
• improper
• a bit much
• limitless
• boundless
• unseemly
• unwarranted
• unjustifiable
• immeasurable
• thick
• unrestrained

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• reasonable
• modest
• moderate
• inadequate
• insufficient
• minimal
• middling
• deficient
• minimum
• temperate

2

as in detailed

made or done with great care or with much detail

we're having a little get-together after the concert—nothing fancy

Synonyms & Similar Words

• detailed
• intricate
• elegant
• complicated
• elaborate
• sophisticated
• complex
• involved
• exquisite
• ornate
• extravagant
• magnificent
• splendid
• frilly
• showy
• grandiose
• ostentatious
• flamboyant
• grand
• exuberant
• Byzantine
• fancified
• overwrought
• convoluted
• chichi
• souped-up
• labyrinthine
• gimmicked (up)
• labyrinthian
• involute
• involuted

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• simple
• unsophisticated
• plain
• modest
• unfancy
• uncomplicated
• no-frills
• naked
• bare
• unadorned
• plain-vanilla
• bald
• plain-Jane
• undecorated
• unvarnished

fancy

2 of 3

noun

1

as in dream

a conception or image created by the imagination and having no objective reality

a writer with a prodigious talent for creating fancies that captivate readers young and old

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dream
• illusion
• daydream
• fantasy
• vision
• idea
• pipe dream
• delusion
• castle in Spain
• castle in the air
• nightmare
• unreality
• imaging
• conceit
• chimera
• mirage
• hallucination
• phantasm
• figment
• nonentity
• concoction
• fiction
• ignis fatuus
• visualization
• will-o'-the-wisp
• brainchild
• fabrication
• cloudland
• utopia
• fable
• invention
• cloud-cuckoo-land
• envisaging
• Shangri-la
• daymare

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• fact
• reality
• actuality

2

as in whim

a sudden impulsive and apparently unmotivated idea or action

is this a serious interest in music, or just your latest fancy that will be forgotten after a week?

Synonyms & Similar Words

• whim
• notion
• whimsy
• vagary
• bee
• impression
• megrim
• thought
• caprice
• freak
• kink
• crank
• fantasy
• maggot
• vagrancy
• humor
• fancifulness
• bee in one's bonnet
• image
• picture
• whimsicality
• concept
• capriciousness
• freakishness
• conceit
• conception
• inspiration
• impetuosity
• brainstorm
• mind's eye

3

as in liking

positive regard for something

now that he's rich he's taken a fancy to expensive sports cars

Synonyms & Similar Words

• liking
• like
• appetite
• preference
• use
• taste
• love
• craving
• fondness
• tendency
• relish
• enthusiasm
• thirst
• love affair
• desire
• favor
• interest
• partiality
• shine
• longing
• inclination
• hankering
• tooth
• yen
• prejudice
• weakness
• bias
• propensity
• bent
• gusto
• passion
• palate
• leaning

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• hatred
• dislike
• disgust
• aversion
• distaste
• loathing
• mislike
• disfavor
• indifference
• disinclination
• apathy
• unconcern

4

as in imagination

the ability to form mental images of things that either are not physically present or have never been conceived or created by others

to fans of Lewis Carroll, the animal creations of his fertile fancy are as real as any creature to be found at the zoo

Synonyms & Similar Words

• imagination
• creativity
• imaginativeness
• fantasy
• inventiveness
• fertility
• contrivance
• ideation
• invention
• originality
• ingenuity
• dream
• inspiration
• resourcefulness
• brainstorming
• versatility
• pipe dream
• daydream
• brainstorm
• fecundity
• illusion
• mirage
• delusion
• visualization
• chimera
• hallucination
• phantasm
• figment
• mind's eye
• envisaging

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• literalness
• literality

fancy

3 of 3

verb

ˈfan(t)-sē 

1

as in to imagine

to form a mental picture of

try to fancy, if you can, our mother on an elephant when she was touring India

Synonyms & Similar Words

• imagine
• see
• envision
• dream
• picture
• fantasy
• feature
• vision
• visualize
• fantasize
• envisage
• conceive
• conceit
• image
• contemplate
• conjure (up)
• plan
• daydream
• ideate
• invent
• reflect
• ponder
• muse
• concoct
• manufacture
• hallucinate
• foresee
• project
• reminisce
• relive
• make up
• ruminate
• meditate
• re-create
• stargaze
• fabricate
• prefigure

2

as in to enjoy

to take pleasure in

the teacher didn't fancy the idea of failing the student, even if he was the class clown

Synonyms & Similar Words

• enjoy
• like
• love
• savor
• relish
• rejoice (in)
• get off (on)
• take to
• delight (in)
• adore
• go for
• revel (in)
• admire
• appreciate
• dig
• groove (on)
• have a soft spot for
• prefer
• get a kick out of
• be partial to
• prize
• revere
• treasure
• value
• venerate
• drink (in)
• worship
• cherish
• feast (on)
• eat (up)
• cotton (to)
• devour
• dote (on)
• indulge (in)
• idolize
• favor
• wallow (in)
• luxuriate (in)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• hate
• dislike
• loathe
• detest
• abhor
• despise
• abominate
• condemn
• scorn

Synonym Chooser

How is the word fancy distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of fancy are conceive, envisage, envision, imagine, realize, and think. While all these words mean "to form an idea of," fancy suggests an imagining often unrestrained by reality but spurred by desires.

fancied himself a super athlete

When could conceive be used to replace fancy?

The words conceive and fancy are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, conceive suggests the forming and bringing forth and usually developing of an idea, plan, or design.

conceived of a new marketing approach

How do envisage and envision relate to one another, in the sense of fancy?

Both envisage and envision imply a conceiving or imagining that is especially clear or detailed.

envisaged a totally computerized operation

envisioned a cure for the disease

Where would imagine be a reasonable alternative to fancy?

The meanings of imagine and fancy largely overlap; however, imagine stresses a visualization.

imagine you're at the beach

When would realize be a good substitute for fancy?

While the synonyms realize and fancy are close in meaning, realize stresses a grasping of the significance of what is conceived or imagined.

realized the enormity of the task ahead

When can think be used instead of fancy?

In some situations, the words think and fancy are roughly equivalent. However, think implies the entrance of an idea into one's mind with or without deliberate consideration or reflection.

I just thought of a good joke

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of fancy

Adjective

There never has been a fancy way to treat the flu. —Lisa Gutierrez updated January 8, Kansas City Star, 8 Jan. 2026

So some of that fancy technology is going to waste. —Camila Domonoske, NPR, 7 Jan. 2026

Noun

His approach to peacemaking has suffered from an improbable degree of improvisation, exclusion of regional expertise, and consequentially, shallowness and flights of fancy. —Sergey Radchenko, Foreign Affairs, 4 Dec. 2025

Each competes to out-fancy the other. —Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025

Verb

After he was drafted to serve in the Vietnam War, Mason urged Michael to flee to Mexico, but Michael did not fancy himself a draft dodger. —Ryan Schwartz, TVLine, 22 Sep. 2025

And there was a smattering of other items, which the visitor, fancying himself an amateur academic archeologist, thought worth noting. —Ben McGrath, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025

Phrases Containing fancy

• fancy man
• fancy up
• fancy woman