fantasize
Americanverb (used without object)
-
fantasizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fantasized,
past participle, past
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fantasizing
present participle
verb (used with object)
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fantasizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fantasized,
past participle, past
-
fantasizing
present participle
verb
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to conceive extravagant or whimsical ideas, images, etc
-
(intr) to conceive pleasant or satisfying mental images
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
fantasizesimple
-
fantasizessimple
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have fantasizedperfect
-
has fantasizedperfect
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am fantasizingprogressive
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are fantasizingprogressive
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is fantasizingprogressive
-
have been fantasizingperfect progressive
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has been fantasizingperfect progressive
Past
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fantasizedsimple
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had fantasizedperfect
-
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
We get it: we also fantasize about flowing to sunrise yoga on a Saturday morning, or strengthening our core, seaside, during a rejuvenating Pilates session.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
If you fantasize about retiring abroad, stories of blissful expats will only stoke your desire.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
But to my eyes, this fandom appears to be a place where anyone is welcome to fantasize, dream, draw, speculate or just plain geek out.
From Salon ● Apr. 12, 2026
Here are some of the conclusions that I gleaned from conversations with McKinsey executives and from their reports: We Americans often fantasize that German and Japanese industries are super-efficient, exceeding American industries in productivity.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Humans are probably the only species on Earth that actively fantasizes about its own extinction — and definitely the only one that actively participates in it.
From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026
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
Instead, he fantasizes about resettling in the Ukraine and forging a life that might command the respect he craves from his parents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2025
He fantasizes about a James Hong comic book series with his brand of sarcastic humor.
From Seattle Times ● May 25, 2023
She fantasizes that the next place she goes—because there’s always a next place, another foster home, a new school—she’ll start over with a new, easier-to-maintain look.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
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
Ever since, Bamberger had fantasized about doing the same.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026
Mayer says he’s fantasized about a sitcom or a talk show taking up residence on the soundstage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 2, 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 fantasized about leaving the fencing team and embarking on some other adventure.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
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
But this wasn’t merely a spectacle of a man engaged in otherworldly fantasizing.
From Slate ● Feb. 4, 2025
Now, Robert Eggers, who gained auteur status with his 2015 colonial horror film “The Witch,” delivers a direct remake of Murnau’s film, apparently a project he’s been fantasizing about for decades.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 24, 2024
It was just his mind playing tricks, fantasizing that the liquid all around was actually water.
From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi
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.
