Meanings
comparative more fanciful · superlative most fanciful · alternative obsolete fancifull · alternative obsolete phanciful · alternative obsolete phancifull
- Imaginative or fantastic; ignoring reality.
Near-synonyms: conceptual, fancied, ideal, notional
2 more examples
It was fanciful to suppose that all he had to do would be to stride into a top law firm and he would be hired on the spot.
Mr. Butler, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain,” treats his newest novelistic conceit as an occasion to toss every possible ingredient into a fanciful hellscape and then let these elements run wild.
2009 September 7, Janet Maslin, “News at Styx: Who’s Hot in Hades”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 31 Aug 2021Synonyms: conceptual, fancied, ideal, notional
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveImaginative or fantastic; ignoring reality.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveindulging in or influenced by fancy
adjectivehaving a curiously intricate quality
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Bulgarian нереален, фантастичен
- нереален (nerealen)imaginative or unreal
- фантастичен (fantastičen)imaginative or unreal
Danish fantasifuld, fantastisk
- fantasifuldimaginative or unreal
- fantastiskimaginative or unreal
Dutch denkbeeldig, verzonnen
- denkbeeldigimaginative or unreal
- verzonnenimaginative or unreal
- fantastischimaginative or unreal
- fantasievolimaginative or unreal
Esperanto fantazia
- fantaziaimaginative or unreal
Finnish mielikuvituksellinen, kuvitteellinen
- mielikuvituksellinenimaginative or unreal
- kuvitteellinenimaginative or unreal
French imaginaire, fantaisiste
- imaginaireimaginative or unreal
- fantaisisteimaginative or unreal
German phantasievoll, irreal
- phantasievollimaginative or unreal
- irrealimaginative or unreal
- unrealistischimaginative or unreal
Hindi मनगढ़ंत, कल्पित
- मनगढ़ंत (managṛhant)imaginative or unreal
- कल्पित (kalpit)imaginative or unreal
- काल्पनिक (kālpanik)imaginative or unreal
Hungarian képzeletbeli
- képzeletbeliimaginative or unreal
Irish meonúil, guanach
- meonúilimaginative or unreal
- guanachimaginative or unreal
Norwegian Bokmål fantasifull
- fantasifullimaginative or unreal
Persian خیالانگیز
- خیالانگیز (xiyâl-angiz)imaginative or unreal
Polish dziwaczny
- dziwacznyimaginative or unreal
Russian прихотливый
- прихотливый (prixotlivyj)imaginative or unreal
Spanish fantasioso, fantástico
- fantasiosoimaginative or unreal
- fantásticoimaginative or unreal
- imaginativoimaginative or unreal
Swedish fantasifull
- fantasifullimaginative or unreal
Thai เพ้อฝัน
- เพ้อฝัน (pə́ə-fǎn)imaginative or unreal
Ukrainian химе́рний
- химе́рний (xymérnyj)imaginative or unreal
Cite this entry
fanciful. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fanciful
“fanciful.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fanciful. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fanciful,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fanciful.
Source: fanciful on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.