fancy
[fan-see]
- imagination or fantasy, especially as exercised in a capricious manner.
- the artistic ability of creating unreal or whimsical imagery, decorative detail, etc., as in poetry or drawing.
- a mental image or conception: He had happy fancies of being a famous actor.
- an idea or opinion with little foundation; illusion: Her belief that she can sing is a mere fancy.
- a caprice; whim; vagary: It was his fancy to fly to Paris occasionally for dinner.
- capricious preference; inclination; a liking: to take a fancy to walking barefoot in the streets.
- critical judgment; taste.
- the breeding of animals to develop points of beauty or excellence.
- love.
- the fancy, Archaic. people deeply interested in a sport, art, etc.
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- made, designed, grown, adapted, etc., to please the taste or fancy; of superfine quality or exceptional appeal: fancy goods; fancy fruits.
- ornamental; decorative; not plain: a cake with a fancy icing.
- depending on imagination or caprice; whimsical; irregular: a fancy conception of time.
- bred to develop points of beauty or excellence, as an animal.
- much too costly; exorbitant or extravagant: a consultant who charges fancy fees.
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- to form a conception of; picture to oneself: Fancy living with that egotist all your life!
- to believe without being absolutely sure or certain: I fancy you are my new neighbor.
- to take a liking to; like.
- to breed to develop a special type of animal.
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- (used as an exclamation of mild surprise): They invited you, too? Fancy!
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- fancy up, to make superficially showy by way of improvement: an old car fancied up with a bright new paint job.
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Origin of fancy
Synonyms
See more synonyms for fancy on Thesaurus.com2. Fancy, fantasy, imagination refer to qualities in literature or other artistic composition. The creations of fancy are casual, whimsical, and often amusing, being at once less profound and less moving or inspiring than those of imagination: letting one's fancy play freely on a subject; an impish fancy. Fantasy now usually suggests an unrestrained or extravagant fancy, often resulting in caprice: The use of fantasy in art creates interesting results. The term and concept of creative imagination are less than two hundred years old; previously only the reproductive aspect had been recognized, hardly to be distinguished from memory. “Creative imagination” suggests that the memories of actual sights and experiences may so blend in the mind of the writer or artist as to produce something that has never existed before—often a hitherto unperceived vision of reality: to use imagination in portraying character and action. 3. thought, notion, impression, idea; phantasm. 5. quirk, humor, crotchet. 11. fine, elegant, choice. 12. decorated, ornate. 16. envision, conceive, imagine.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for fanciest
Contemporary Examples
From stocking stuffers to the world's fanciest food processor, gifts for cooks of every age and experience level.
One of Kate's gynecologists delivers exclusively at London's fanciest maternity hospital, The Portland.
With respect to restaurants, I tend not to like the fanciest places.
The rest shows up only in the fanciest of fancy sushi restaurants.
At that rate, even the fanciest steak dinner would still be a bargain by comparison.
Historical Examples
And now the cricket is the fastest and fanciest hopper there is.
FreeChildrenStories.com CollectionDaniel Errico
And, believe me, they was the fanciest poultry specimens I'd ever seen!
Torchy, Private Sec.Sewell Ford
I'll show you some of the fanciest shooting you'll ever see in your life!
On the Trail of the Space PiratesCarey Rockwell
That's our fanciest place where the food starts at ten dollars.
ProbabilityLouis Trimble
It was the fanciest and most expensive screwdriver you ever saw.
The Trouble with TelstarJohn Berryman
fancy
- not plain; ornamented or decorativea fancy cake; fancy clothes
- requiring skill to perform; intricatea fancy dance routine
- arising in the imagination; capricious or illusory
- (often used ironically) superior in quality or impressivea fancy course in business administration
- higher than expectedfancy prices
- (of a domestic animal) bred for particular qualities
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- a sudden capricious idea; whim
- a sudden or irrational liking for a person or thing
- the power to conceive and represent decorative and novel imagery, esp in poetry. Fancy was held by Coleridge to be more casual and superficial than imaginationSee imagination (def. 4)
- an idea or thing produced by this
- a mental image
- taste or judgment, as in art of dress
- Also called: fantasy, fantasia music a composition for solo lute, keyboard, etc, current during the 16th and 17th centuries
- the fancy archaic those who follow a particular sport, esp prize fighting
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- to picture in the imagination
- to suppose; imagineI fancy it will rain
- (often used with a negative) to likeI don't fancy your chances!
- (reflexive) to have a high or ill-founded opinion of oneselfhe fancied himself as a doctor
- informal to have a wish for; desireshe fancied some chocolate
- British informal to be physically attracted to (another person)
- to breed (animals) for particular characteristics
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- Also: fancy that! an exclamation of surprise or disbelief
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Word Origin
C15 fantsy, shortened from fantasie; see fantasy
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for fanciest
fancy
n.
mid-15c., contraction of fantasy, it took the older and longer word's sense of "inclination, whim, desire." Meaning "fans of an amusement or sport, collectively" is attested by 1735, especially (though not originally) of the prize ring. The adjective is recorded from mid-18c.
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fancy
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with fanciest
fancy
see flight of fancy; footloose and fancy-free; take a fancy to; tickle one's fancy;.
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.