as in imagining
to form a mental picture of
all those lottery players fantasizing themselves as living in extravagant luxury
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Recent Examples of fantasizing
Kudrow, who starred as the free-spirited Phoebe Buffay, said the writers reprimanded the cast for forgetting lines and spent their off-hours fantasizing about her female co-stars.
—
Jack Dunn, Variety, 28 Apr. 2026
That’s not the same as fantasizing about Chinese lifestyles from afar.
—Andy Browne, semafor.com, 28 Apr. 2026
Hitler spent most of his time not working or planning or leading but fantasizing about architecture.
—Literary Hub, 27 Apr. 2026
Then comes making promises and fantasizing about a future together.
—Erin Vanderhoof, Vanity Fair, 21 Apr. 2026
After the fundraiser, sweet young couple Austin (Charles Melton) and Ashley (Cailee Spaeny) are making out by the tennis courts, fantasizing about one day having a family, when their boss, Janet (Michole Briana White), asks them to drop off Josh’s wallet at his house.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2026
Hedda’s romantic picture — of Lovborg dying magnificently, with Dionysian vine leaves in his hairs, from a bullet of one of her own guns — smacks of the same literary cliches that has Emma fantasizing about a torchlight wedding at midnight.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026
When her daughter was born in December, Ivanova called her Yustyna – the name the couple picked together when fantasizing about having children.
—Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 22 Feb. 2026
Storylines like this, in our age of escalating eat-the-rich sentiment, allow viewers to vicariously enjoy beautiful homes and high-maintenance bodies while also fantasizing about (or, for more comfortable audiences, safely exploring fears of) class warfare.
—Judy Berman, Time, 30 Jan. 2026
Jack Dunn, Variety, 28 Apr. 2026
That’s not the same as fantasizing about Chinese lifestyles from afar.
—Andy Browne, semafor.com, 28 Apr. 2026
Hitler spent most of his time not working or planning or leading but fantasizing about architecture.
—Literary Hub, 27 Apr. 2026
Then comes making promises and fantasizing about a future together.
—Erin Vanderhoof, Vanity Fair, 21 Apr. 2026
After the fundraiser, sweet young couple Austin (Charles Melton) and Ashley (Cailee Spaeny) are making out by the tennis courts, fantasizing about one day having a family, when their boss, Janet (Michole Briana White), asks them to drop off Josh’s wallet at his house.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2026
Hedda’s romantic picture — of Lovborg dying magnificently, with Dionysian vine leaves in his hairs, from a bullet of one of her own guns — smacks of the same literary cliches that has Emma fantasizing about a torchlight wedding at midnight.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026
When her daughter was born in December, Ivanova called her Yustyna – the name the couple picked together when fantasizing about having children.
—Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 22 Feb. 2026
Storylines like this, in our age of escalating eat-the-rich sentiment, allow viewers to vicariously enjoy beautiful homes and high-maintenance bodies while also fantasizing about (or, for more comfortable audiences, safely exploring fears of) class warfare.
—Judy Berman, Time, 30 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fantasizing
Verb
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Follow the trails that wind through the gardens and orchard, then sit by the Boathouse Lake, taking in views of the house, and imagining the lives of those who once called it home.—
Harriet Marsden,
TheWeek,
2 June 2026
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Their dive into the intersection of science and storytelling ranged from imagining alien worlds to visualizing the future of humanity.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
2 June 2026
Verb
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In fact, Hilton is envisioning vetoes putting lawmakers on record; the last time a session in Sacramento overrode a veto was in 1979.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
30 May 2026
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Most entrepreneurs don’t launch a business envisioning how to step away from it.—
Peter Chawaga,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
Verb
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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
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As a little girl in Texas, Terry Chisholm grew up dreaming of horses.—
Nielsen Dinwoodie,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
Verb
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Both teams are looking for a healthy seven-game series, but the Knicks seeing their best scorer heading off the court early isn't the way the Eastern Conference champions wanted to kick off their first trip to the NBA Finals since 1999 against these same Spurs.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
4 June 2026
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What stayed with me most was seeing how much children respond to even the smallest acts of kindness.—
Brittany Talarico,
PEOPLE,
3 June 2026
Verb
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When picturing a predator, most people envision an animal with immense speed, sharp teeth or deadly venom.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
9 May 2026
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The test case—picturing a cow doing ballet—produces a smug bovine pirouetting.—
Elise Broach,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fantasizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fantasizing. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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