fanciful
Americanadjective
-
not based on fact; dubious or imaginary
fanciful notions
-
made or designed in a curious, intricate, or imaginative way
-
indulging in or influenced by fancy; whimsical
Other Word Forms
- fancifully adverb
- fancifulness noun
- overfanciful adjective
- overfancifully adverb
- overfancifulness noun
- unfanciful adjective
Etymology
Origin of fanciful
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.
It is not fanciful to suspect that Iranian capabilities are being degraded very quickly.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 13, 2026
The RFU has promised an open inquest into what has gone wrong and, regardless of what happens in Paris - and a victory appears fanciful - this needs to be forensic.
From BBC • Mar. 8, 2026
Architecture critics, who like to put the chapel in a historical context, regard it as a turning point in the discipline—its fanciful use of concrete anticipates Brutalism and its unusual shapes herald Post-Modernism.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026
The way “asses.masses” shifted tones and tenor recalled a game such as “Kentucky Route Zero,” another serialized and alternately realistic and fanciful game with political overtones.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 10, 2026
Mrs. Kidwell, a fanciful woman, had been standing at a window watching dusk tint the outdoors, the sprawling prairie.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
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.
