fanciful

[ fan-si-fuhl ]

/ ˈfæn sɪ fəl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fanciful ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

characterized by or showing fancy; capricious or whimsical in appearance: a fanciful design of butterflies and flowers.

suggested by fancy; imaginary; unreal: fanciful lands of romance.

led by fancy rather than by reason and experience; whimsical: a fanciful mind.

Nearby words

fanback, fanbase, fanboy, fancied, fancier, fanciful, fancify, fanconi's anemia, fanconi's syndrome, fancy, fancy dance

Origin of fanciful

First recorded in 1620–30; fancy + -ful

SYNONYMS FOR fanciful

2 visionary, baseless, illusory.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fanciful ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

fan·ci·ful·ly, adverbfan·ci·ful·ness, nouno·ver·fan·ci·ful, adjectiveo·ver·fan·ci·ful·ly, adverb

o·ver·fan·ci·ful·ness, nounun·fan·ci·ful, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for fanciful

But such primitive and fanciful ideas are just the skin on top of hot milk.
Putin’s Dream of Empire Doesn’t Stop at Crimea, Or Even Ukraine|Oleg Shynkarenko|March 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The characters struck me as fanciful, and the plot was contrived.
Of Sin and College: Robert Stone’s ‘Death of a Black-Haired Girl’|Tom LeClair|November 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Expect some fanciful linguistic contortions when asked whether or not this is, in fact, a “coup?”
Egypt: That Was A Coup|Ali Gharib|July 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The fanciful assertion that nation states lessen it is unlikely to convince a Russian or Chinese dissident, or Tibetan.
Savaging Primitives: Why Jared Diamond’s ‘The World Until Yesterday’ Is Completely Wrong|Stephen Corry|January 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST

I was afraid to tell my story directly, wanted to couch it in a fanciful (and imitative) yarn of sex and intrigue.
‘Miracle Boy Grows Up’: Ben Mattlin Speaks to Jay McInerney|Jay McInerney|December 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
There was a fanciful suggestion of the eavesdropper about the creature; his attitude was almost furtive.
The Hound From The North|Ridgwell Cullum
We have not time or inclination to indulge in fanciful troubles until we have got rid of our real misfortunes.
Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow|Jerome K. Jerome
I am fanciful,' he added, looking hard at Herrick, 'and I take fads.
The Ebb-Tide|Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyde Osbourne
And if in so reading they seem clear and connected, fanciful and far-drawn interpretations will not be adopted.
Testimony of the Sonnets as to the Authorship of the Shakespearean Plays and Poems|Jesse Johnson
He understood the meaning that ran beneath the unconscious extravagance of her fanciful and impassioned language.
Folle-Farine|Ouida

British Dictionary definitions for fanciful

fanciful

/ (ˈfænsɪfʊl) /

adjective

not based on fact; dubious or imaginaryfanciful notions

made or designed in a curious, intricate, or imaginative way

indulging in or influenced by fancy; whimsical

Derived Forms

fancifully, adverbfancifulness, noun

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