fantastic
Americanadjective
-
extraordinarily good; excellent.
a fantastic restaurant.
-
Also fantastical
-
conceived or appearing as if conceived by an unrestrained imagination; odd and remarkable; bizarre; grotesque.
The most fantastic rock formations are visible from the high plateau of the park’s rim trail.
Artists rendered fantastic designs in the margin of the manuscript.
-
fanciful or capricious, as persons or their ideas or actions.
We never know what that fantastic creature will say next.
-
imaginary or groundless in not being based on reality; foolish or irrational.
You can’t let these fantastic fears of yours control your life.
-
extravagantly fanciful; marvelous.
The scenery and lighting they created for the dream sequences are truly fantastic!
-
incredibly great or extreme; exorbitant.
The rich are spending fantastic sums of money, even in this economy.
-
highly unrealistic or impractical.
They hatched a fantastic scheme to make a million dollars betting on horse races.
-
adjective
-
strange, weird, or fanciful in appearance, conception, etc
-
created in the mind; illusory
-
extravagantly fanciful; unrealistic
fantastic plans
-
incredible or preposterous; absurd
a fantastic verdict
-
informal very large or extreme; great
a fantastic fortune
he suffered fantastic pain
-
informal very good; excellent
-
of, given to, or characterized by fantasy
-
not constant; capricious; fitful
given to fantastic moods
noun
Synonym Usage
See bizarre.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of fantastic
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English fantastik “pertaining to the imaginative faculty,” from Medieval Latin fantasticus, variant of Late Latin phantasticus, from Greek phantastikós “able to present the appearence (of something),” derivative of phantázein “to make present to the eye or mind” (akin to phānós “light, bright,” phaínein “to bring to light, cause to appear”) + -tikos -tic
Explanation
The adjective fantastic has two meanings — extraordinarily brilliant or ludicrously far-fetched. So when your boss calls your suggestion of work-at-home-in-your-bathrobe-Fridays for the whole office fantastic, be sure you know which one he means. We get fantastic from the Latin phantasticus, meaning “imaginary.” Sometimes it’s still used that way: If you call a unicorn a fantastic beast, you’re not paying it a compliment; you’re saying it exists only in fairy tales. Most often, though, fantastic means strikingly out-of-the-ordinary. It can be complimentary ("You got an A? Fantastic!") or disparaging ("He was always foolishly unrealistic, but trying to reach the moon using a balloon tied to his bicycle was his most fantastic idea yet.").
Vocabulary lists containing fantastic
"What Is the Horror Genre?" Vocabulary from the literary criticism
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"What is the Horror Genre?" by Sharon A. Russell
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"Frankenstein" and "How Frankenstein Began"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Gyllenhaal co-produced the film and turned in a fantastic, moving performance.
From Salon • May 27, 2026
He has been fantastic and it's crazy to me that he is not Spain's number one.
From BBC • May 24, 2026
He has been fantastic playing in two different positions.
From BBC • May 24, 2026
Audiences trickling back into theaters deserve to see something fantastic.
From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026
They kept swiveling their eyes this way and that to discover who in Saint Petersburg society might notice them with their new royal friend and start some fantastic rumor as a result.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
