fantasia

American  

[fan-tey-zhuh, -zhee-uh, fan-tuh-zee-uh] / fænˈteɪ ʒə, -ʒi ə, ˌfæn təˈzi ə /

noun

1. Music.

   1. a composition in fanciful or irregular form or style.

   2. a potpourri of well-known airs arranged with interludes and florid embellishments.

2. fantasy.

3. something considered to be unreal, weird, exotic, or grotesque.

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fantasia British  

/ ˌfæntəˈzɪə, fænˈteɪzɪə /

noun

1. any musical composition of a free or improvisatory nature

2. a potpourri of popular tunes woven freely into a loosely bound composition

3. another word for fancy

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Etymology

Origin of fantasia

From Italian, dating back to 1715–25; fantasy

Example Sentences

In the second half, an early 20th century oddball fantasia for four violas by British composer/violist York Bowen was preceded a gripping performance of the First Sextet.

From Los Angeles Times

Shot on film by cinematographer Alex Ashe to achieve a warm, grainy period look, the movie takes its two-people-talking premise as the unlikely springboard for a subtly rendered visual fantasia.

From The Wall Street Journal

The putrid chamber drama becomes a fantasia, befouled rags turn into tuxedo pants and it’s finally safe to belt how they feel.

From Los Angeles Times

The germ of an edgy fantasia about an isolated pop icon’s ego death is swimming somewhere in the DNA of “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” but it’s been flattened into a superficial, tear-stained pity party.

From Los Angeles Times

One chapter looks at a literary example, William Wells Brown’s novel "Clotel," which is something of a fantasia on the Sally Hemings story.

From Salon