Definitions

fanciful

[fan-si-fuhl] / ˈfæn sɪ fəl /

ADJECTIVE

imaginary, romantic

Synonyms

STRONGEST

absurd bizarre extravagant fantastic fantastical fictional imaginative offbeat preposterous unreal whimsical

WEAK

aerial blue-sky capricious castles in the air chimerical curious dreamlike fabulous fairy-tale fancied fictitious fictive flaky floating ideal illusory imagined incredible kinky legendary mythical notional on cloud nine pie in the sky pipe dream poetic shadowy suppositious visionary wild

Antonyms

STRONGEST

normal reasonable sensible usual

WEAK

grave ordinary real serious sincere unfanciful unimaginative unromantic

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"If there was a war in Taiwan today, the likelihood that China is going to militarise these humanoids and fight effectively is fanciful," he adds.

From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026

That seemed fanciful, but their confidence has proved well-placed.

From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026

The accusation that voicing criticism of a campaign waged on flawed assumptions and fanciful expectations means rooting for the enemy is repugnant.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026

All A.I. systems today are built around neural networks, which, despite their fanciful name, are just math formulas.

From Slate • May 25, 2026

He understood about Esther, during those nine days: that she considered his fear and trembling fanciful and childish, a way of making life more complicated than it need be.

From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin

Vocabulary lists containing fanciful

The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone

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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 6

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30 GRE Words Beginning with "E" and "F"

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