fantasize
Americanverb (used without object)
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fantasizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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fantasized,
past participle, past
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fantasizing
present participle
verb (used with object)
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fantasizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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fantasized,
past participle, past
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fantasizing
present participle
verb
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to conceive extravagant or whimsical ideas, images, etc
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(intr) to conceive pleasant or satisfying mental images
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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fantasizesimple
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fantasizessimple
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have fantasizedperfect
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has fantasizedperfect
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am fantasizingprogressive
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are fantasizingprogressive
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is fantasizingprogressive
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have been fantasizingperfect progressive
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has been fantasizingperfect progressive
Past
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fantasizedsimple
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had fantasizedperfect
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was fantasizingprogressive
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were fantasizingprogressive
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had been fantasizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fantasize
Explanation
To fantasize is to imagine things that are not true and sometimes not possible. We fantasize about things we wish were real. Have you ever daydreamed that you're a king, or a superstar in the NBA, or able to fly? Then you've been fantasizing. Fantasizing is something everyone does, though we all have different fantasies. You can fantasize about things that are possible or impossible, including being the President, riding a unicorn, or being the President of unicorns. You can fantasize about anything you can imagine.
Vocabulary lists containing fantasize
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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.
See Examples For:
Some fantasize about running around with their grandchildren.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
Nevertheless, notice what Cornell’s research implies for those who fantasize about being in the stock market on these best days: You need to be heavily invested during bear markets.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
Toward the book’s end they fantasize about a world in which your local Waffle House serves “mycelium-based steak and Impossible burgers for the patty melts,” with red meat unavailable at most restaurants.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
The empathic distance that reality TV affords still allows us to not only delight in the Traitors’ impressive murder run but perhaps fantasize as to how well we’d perform in their place.
From Salon ● Jan. 28, 2026
It was hard not to fantasize about inheriting the estate.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
Walter Mitty is a term sometimes used to describe a person who fantasizes about a life more interesting and exciting than their own.
From BBC ● Jan. 21, 2026
Latta fantasizes about one day being in hospitality.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2023
He fantasizes about a James Hong comic book series with his brand of sarcastic humor.
From Seattle Times ● May 25, 2023
"If you think about the show, and Alan's locked there in the basement, and Sam goes to work, and you think, 'Alan fantasizes about Auschwitz?' I 100% want to see that scene," said Weisberg.
From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2022
Enrique fantasizes about Lourdes’s expected homecoming in December.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
I immediately fantasized about changing my no-dog policy to “second dogs are OK—at $500 a month.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026
What active trader hasn’t fantasized about stepping out of their time-traveling DeLorean in October 1929, 1987 or 2007 with a wad of cash?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 7, 2026
Director Guillermo del Toro fantasized about making a version of Mary Shelley’s classic for decades.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2025
I ate it voraciously and have since fantasized over how I might replicate it at home, especially during the summertime — but I've yet to come close.
From Salon ● May 30, 2025
I loved driving up to his house because his front door was guarded by gigantic lion sculptures—exactly like the ones I had fantasized would protect me.
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
Along with fantasizing about exotic locations and charming apartments, we encourage you to spend some time on the boring yet important daily life stuff.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
Sure, many other countries go to war with similar motives, fantasizing the conflicts are about freedom or religion or whatever.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
While starving and battling lice, the young women distracted themselves by fantasizing about food.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
The narrator begins fantasizing about Sheila’s handsome Vietnamese vet — so vividly that he appears in her kitchen one day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2026
I’d been fantasizing about this moment, and the release of emotion that would accompany it, for many months.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
