fantasize
Americanverb (used without object)
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fantasizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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fantasized,
past participle, past
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fantasizing
present participle
verb (used with object)
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fantasizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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fantasized,
past participle, past
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fantasizing
present participle
verb
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to conceive extravagant or whimsical ideas, images, etc
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(intr) to conceive pleasant or satisfying mental images
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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fantasizesimple
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fantasizessimple
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have fantasizedperfect
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has fantasizedperfect
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am fantasizingprogressive
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are fantasizingprogressive
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is fantasizingprogressive
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have been fantasizingperfect progressive
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has been fantasizingperfect progressive
Past
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fantasizedsimple
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had fantasizedperfect
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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:
If you fantasize about retiring abroad, stories of blissful expats will only stoke your desire.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
Yes, one can fantasize about the end result of a good haul, i.e. crab cakes, crab cocktail and/or Crab Louie.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 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
Exploring these accounts, I found that many lead back to Choudhury, keen to speculate and fantasize about which species might be in “The End of Oak Street.”
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
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
On the last day of work for Bringley, who a decade later is still a young man, Joseph fantasizes about his own future in their shared language of art.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 9, 2023
Isaac fantasizes about opening a brewery-cum-performance-space, traveling through South America, or operating a sunset massage cruise in the Caribbean.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
Duchamp’s seeming disinterest often revealed itself to be something far more venomous, as when he fantasized about a nihilistic readymade: “Use a Rembrandt as an ironing board.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
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
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
“He didn't adjust, that was the plan all along,” one fantasized in comments.
From Salon ● May 14, 2025
Whatever they fantasized about, it all seemed possible that day.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
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
She was about 4½ when she started fantasizing about participating in the World Cup.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026
Pete Golding had spent nearly 20 years in college football, fantasizing about the day when he might become a head coach in the hallowed Southeastern Conference.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025
But this wasn’t merely a spectacle of a man engaged in otherworldly fantasizing.
From Slate ● Feb. 4, 2025
I’d been fantasizing about this moment, and the release of emotion that would accompany it, for many months.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
