fantastic

[ fan-tas-tik ]

/ fænˈtæs tɪk /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fantastic ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

conceived or appearing as if conceived by an unrestrained imagination; odd and remarkable; bizarre; grotesque: fantastic rock formations; fantastic designs.

fanciful or capricious, as persons or their ideas or actions: We never know what that fantastic creature will say next.

imaginary or groundless in not being based on reality; foolish or irrational: fantastic fears.

extravagantly fanciful; marvelous.

incredibly great or extreme; exorbitant: to spend fantastic sums of money.

highly unrealistic or impractical; outlandish: a fantastic scheme to make a million dollars betting on horse races.

Informal. extraordinarily good: a fantastic musical.

Nearby words

fantasist, fantasize, fantasm, fantasmagoria, fantast, fantastic, fantastically, fantasticate, fantastico, fantasy, fantasyland

Also fan·tas·ti·cal.

Origin of fantastic

1350–1400; Middle English fantastik pertaining to the imaginative faculty < Medieval Latin fantasticus, variant of Late Latin phantasticus < Greek phantastikós able to present or show (to the mind), equivalent to *phantad-, base of phantázein to make visible (akin to phānós light, bright, phaínein to make appear) + -tikos -tic

SYNONYMS FOR fantastic

1 Fantastic, bizarre, grotesque, weird share a sense of deviation from what is normal or expected. Fantastic suggests a wild lack of restraint, a fancifulness so extreme as to lose touch with reality: a fantastic scheme for a series of space cities. In informal use, fantastic often means simply “exceptionally good”: a fantastic meal. Bizarre means markedly unusual or extraordinarily strange, sometimes whimsically so: bizarre costumes for Mardi Gras; bizarre behavior. Grotesque implies shocking distortion or incongruity, sometimes ludicrous, more often pitiful or tragic: a grotesque mixture of human and animal features; grotesque contrast between the forced smile and sad eyes: a gnarled tree suggesting the figure of a grotesque human being. Weird refers to that which is mysterious and apparently outside natural law, hence supernatural or uncanny: the weird adventures of a group lost in the jungle; a weird and ghostly apparition. Informally, weird means “very strange”: weird and wacky costumes; weird sense of humor.

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Related forms

fan·tas·ti·cal·ly, adverbfan·tas·ti·cal·ness, fan·tas·ti·cal·i·ty, nounsu·per·fan·tas·tic, adjectivesu·per·fan·tas·ti·cal·ly, adverb

un·fan·tas·tic, adjectiveun·fan·tas·ti·cal·ly, adverb

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

Examples from the Web for fantastic

"Clive has had a fantastic and distinguished career so we listen to what he has to say," he said.
Victim: I Watched British MPs Rape and Murder Young Boys|Nico Hines|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I had, for a long time, been curious about the place where all this fantastic stuff was made.
A Whisky Connoisseur Remembers That First Sip of The Macallan||December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is completely nonsensical, and every second is fantastic.
The Most WTF Covers of ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside,’ Everyone’s Favorite Date-Rape Holiday Classic|Kevin Fallon|November 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The story was a very subversive fairy tale by Roald Dahl, and a fantastic part.
All Eyes on Anjelica Huston: The Legendary Actress on Love, Abuse, and Jack Nicholson|Alex Suskind|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Ruben Studdard I thought was fantastic, the best crossover singer since Luther Vandross for me.
Nigel Lythgoe on How to Save Reality TV, ‘On the Town,’ and ‘Brokeback Ballroom’|Kevin Fallon|October 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He forms all kinds of crude and fantastic theories about these invisible forces.
The Church and Modern Life|Washington Gladden
They also give rise to the formation of modern myths, that is, fantastic rumours, suspicions and prejudices.
Collected Papers on Analytical Psychology|C. G. Jung
Fantastic as was her intention, they knew that, as far as they themselves were concerned, she spoke common-sense.
Jaffery|William J. Locke
The woods were beautiful, but I saw their beauty only in a vague, fantastic way.
At the Age of Eve|Kate Trimble Sharber
We came out into the most fantastic scenery of its kind I have ever seen.
Poor Folk in Spain|Jan Gordon

British Dictionary definitions for fantastic

fantastic

/ (fænˈtæstɪk) /

adjective Also: fantastical

strange, weird, or fanciful in appearance, conception, etc

created in the mind; illusory

extravagantly fanciful; unrealisticfantastic plans

incredible or preposterous; absurda fantastic verdict

informal very large or extreme; greata fantastic fortune; he suffered fantastic pain

informal very good; excellent

of, given to, or characterized by fantasy

not constant; capricious; fitfulgiven to fantastic moods

noun

archaic a person who dresses or behaves eccentrically

Derived Formsfantasticality or fantasticalness, noun

Word Origin for fantastic

C14 fantastik imaginary, via Late Latin from Greek phantastikos capable of imagining, from phantazein to make visible

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

fantastic

adjective

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Nearby words

Origin of fantastic

Examples from the Web for fantastic

British Dictionary definitions for fantastic

fantastic

adjective Also: fantastical

noun

Word Origin for fantastic