1
as in imagining
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
Relevance
2
as in enjoying
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fancying
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
Ben McGrath, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fancying
Verb
-
In imagining my ideal bachelorette, there was no sash, no tiara, no phallic shot glasses.—
Aemilia Madden,
Vogue,
27 May 2026
-
My own research in the Princeton Music Cognition Lab peels back the everyday experience of imagining something while listening to music to identify a striking case of this collision between the individual and the collective.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
Verb
-
The TikTok noise seems to have translated to ticket sales, with the low-budget horror film enjoying a 30% box office boost in its second weekend, a rare feat.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
-
Now baseball is heading toward another high-stakes labor negotiation with the sport enjoying strong momentum on the field, but with the same basic financial fight bubbling under the surface.—
Dan Zaksheske,
FOXNews.com,
27 May 2026
Verb
-
After seeing his team squander chance after chance, Etowah’s Matthew Sharman wasn’t going to waste any opportunity to score.—
Stan Awtrey,
AJC.com,
28 May 2026
-
Michigan Humane took on a tricky animal rescue task after motorists reported seeing a cat along the Lodge Freeway in Metro Detroit.—
Paula Wethington,
CBS News,
27 May 2026
Verb
-
They are born, sometimes, just from not liking each other.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
28 May 2026
-
One man’s modernity is, of course, another’s degradation, and, as dinner was served, the conversation turned to such recent innovations as ghost runners, pitch clocks, and robot umps, none of them to Murray’s liking.—
Ben McGrath,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
In an environment where people are unsure where to start, change management is the critical foundation for envisioning new operating models and reinventing business processes.—
Peter Fitzgibbon,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
-
Over five decades, hundreds have spoken, envisioning entry into heaven, begging for forgiveness and trying to reckon with their crimes.—
Erik Ortiz,
NBC news,
20 May 2026
Verb
-
Venus and Jupiter align in nurturing Cancer on June 9, one of the sweeter transits of the year, bringing a collective focus on joy, intimacy, and the small moments worth savoring.—
Kirah Tabourn,
Condé Nast Traveler,
28 May 2026
-
But for now, Koeninger is savoring the final moments of his baseball career at Keller High School.—
Charles Baggarly,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
Spaeny and Melton were cast as Ashley and Austin, a Gen-Z couple working at a Montecito country club, dreaming and scheming toward upward mobility, a good 18 months before filming began in early 2025.—
Glenn Whipp,
Los Angeles Times,
27 May 2026
-
As a little girl in Texas, Terry Chisholm grew up dreaming of horses.—
Nielsen Dinwoodie,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
Unlike sun-loving tomatoes, peppers, squash, and cucumbers, which require full sunlight to mature and produce fruit, vegetables that grow in the shade are primarily grown for their leaves or roots.—
Rita Pelczar,
Better Homes & Gardens,
26 May 2026
-
Fans have been loving Boston Blue, and thankfully it was renewed for a second season.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
25 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fancying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fancying. Accessed 1 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
