fanciful
adjective
fan·ci·ful ˈfan(t)-si-fəl 
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 fancy entry 2) only
a fanciful notion
the falsehoods about some fanciful secret treaties
F. D. Roosevelt
F. D. Roosevelt3
: marked by or as if by fancy or whim
gave their children fanciful names
fancifully
ˈfan(t)-si-f(ə-)lē
adverb fancifulness
ˈfan(t)-si-fəl-nəs
noun 
Synonyms
- absurd
- bizarre
- crazy
- fantastic
- fantastical
- foolish
- insane
- nonsensical
- preposterous
- unreal
- wild
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
a fanciful tale of a monster in the woods They gave all their children fanciful names.
Recent Examples on the Web But the $288 billion in putative savings are fanciful. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 28 July 2022 What Sondheim was after was a quest story, something fun and fanciful. Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2022 James Beard Award nominee Ravi DeRossi, has landed in a delightfully overgrown and fanciful section of Melrose Avenue. Evan Nicole Brown, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 July 2022 But that’s not to say Deux Chats (English translation: Two Cats) is overtly fanciful or Francophile. Elise Taylor, Vogue, 28 July 2022 Especially since the photos released by the brand suggest the car is more than just a fanciful concept. Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 27 Apr. 2022 The costumes define groups of dancers in five eye-popping colors and the choreography includes a series of fanciful but athletic pas de trois, which is a dance with three people. San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Mar. 2022 Despite Hungary’s grim history of its own with Moscow — the crushing of its 1956 revolution with Soviet tanks in the streets — such fears seem fanciful to many supporters of the prime minister. Laura Kingstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2022 And while this may seem fanciful given the camera bump on the iPhone today, rumor has it that the bump will be significantly reduced on the upcoming iPhone 14. Yoni Heisler, BGR, 11 Feb. 2022 See More
The Editorial Board, WSJ, 28 July 2022 What Sondheim was after was a quest story, something fun and fanciful. Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2022 James Beard Award nominee Ravi DeRossi, has landed in a delightfully overgrown and fanciful section of Melrose Avenue. Evan Nicole Brown, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 July 2022 But that’s not to say Deux Chats (English translation: Two Cats) is overtly fanciful or Francophile. Elise Taylor, Vogue, 28 July 2022 Especially since the photos released by the brand suggest the car is more than just a fanciful concept. Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 27 Apr. 2022 The costumes define groups of dancers in five eye-popping colors and the choreography includes a series of fanciful but athletic pas de trois, which is a dance with three people. San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Mar. 2022 Despite Hungary’s grim history of its own with Moscow — the crushing of its 1956 revolution with Soviet tanks in the streets — such fears seem fanciful to many supporters of the prime minister. Laura Kingstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2022 And while this may seem fanciful given the camera bump on the iPhone today, rumor has it that the bump will be significantly reduced on the upcoming iPhone 14. Yoni Heisler, BGR, 11 Feb. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
fancy entry 2 + -ful entry 1
First Known Use
circa 1627, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
fanciful
adjective
fan·ci·ful ˈfan-si-fəl
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.
fanciful
adjective
1
as in bizarre
conceived or made without regard for reason or reality she harbors the fanciful notion that she has a talent for singing Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- bizarre
- absurd
- foolish
- unreal
- insane
- fantastical
- crazy
- strange
- nonsensical
- preposterous
- fantastic
- ridiculous
- wild
- grotesque
- curious
- incredible
- implausible
- peculiar
- weird
- odd
- funny
- extravagant
- eccentric
- inconceivable
- unbelievable
- outlandish
- quirky
- ludicrous
- off the wall
- outré
- unimaginable
- wacky
- quaint
- unthinkable
- surreal
- farcical
- kooky
- laughable
- whacky
- dreamlike
- nightmarish
- bizarro
- kinky
- screwy
- queer
- far-out
- way-out
- kookie
- queerish
- Alice-in-Wonderland
- out-of-the-way
- Kafkaesque
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- reasonable
- realistic
2
as in fictitious
not real and existing only in the imagination the fanciful creatures that J.R.R. Tolkien created for his Middle Earth novels Synonyms & Similar Words
- fictitious
- imaginary
- mythical
- fictional
- mythic
- fantastical
- fantasied
- imagined
- chimerical
- ideal
- imaginal
- unreal
- invented
- phantasmal
- phantom
- theoretical
- fantastic
- made-up
- phantasmic
- notional
- visionary
- romantic
- fabulous
- make-believe
- pretend
- unlikely
- legendary
- hypothetical
- chimeric
- theoretic
- abstract
- unconvincing
- deceptive
- unbelievable
- fabled
- delusive
- illusory
- hallucinatory
- phantasmagoric
- delusional
- conceived
- envisioned
- fictive
- visualized
- concocted
- phantasmagorical
- envisaged
- pictured
- fabricated
- nonexistent
- daydreamlike
- feigned
- inexistent
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- real
- actual
- true
- existing
- authentic
- factual
- genuine
- realistic
- existent
- convincing
- believable
- verifiable
- substantial
- physical
- solid
- tangible
- corporeal
- material
- palpable
- verified
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of fanciful are chimerical, fantastic, imaginary, quixotic, and visionary. While all these words mean "unreal or unbelievable," fanciful suggests the free play of the imagination.
a teller of fanciful stories
Chimerical combines the implication of visionary and fantastic.
chimerical dreams of future progress
The meanings of fantastic and fanciful largely overlap; however, fantastic implies incredibility or strangeness beyond belief.
a fantastic world inhabited by monsters
The synonyms imaginary and fanciful are sometimes interchangeable, but imaginary applies to something which is fictitious and purely the product of one's imagination.
an imaginary desert isle
The words quixotic and fanciful are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, quixotic implies a devotion to romantic or chivalrous ideals unrestrained by ordinary prudence and common sense.
a quixotic crusade
The words visionary and fanciful can be used in similar contexts, but visionary stresses impracticality or incapability of realization.
visionary schemes
- one-man
- one-man band
- one-many
- one-night stand
- one-nighter
- one-note
- one-o'clock
- one-off
- one-on-one
- one-one
- one-over-one
- one-part code
- one-piece
- one-piecer
- one-point perspective
- one-pounder
- one-seater
- one-seed juniper
- one-shot
- one-shot camera
- one-shot deal
- one-sided
- one-sidedly
- one-sidedness
- one-size-fits-all