fanciful Hear it!

fanciful Definition

fan·ci·ful (fansə fəl)

adjective

  1. full of fancy; indulging in fancies; imaginative in a playful way; whimsical
  2. created in the fancy; imaginary; not real a fanciful tale
  3. showing fancy in construction or design; quaint; odd fanciful costumes

fanciful Related Forms

fan·ci·fully adverb fan·ci·ful·ness noun

fanciful Synonyms

fanciful

modif.

  1. Characterized by use of the fancy

    fantastical, whimsical, capricious, playful, imaginative, inventive, imaginary, chimerical, visionary, dreamlike, illusory; see also imaginary, unreal.

  2. Showing fancy in design

    quaint, odd, extravagant; see fantastic 1.

fanciful Usage Examples

Modifying Another Word

  • somewhat: A somewhat fanciful topic: The Social Implications of the Internet.
  • rather: This colorful print gives a rather fanciful representation of the rowing barge, which is still displayed in the Royal Naval Museum at Portsmouth.
  • merely: These responses are not merely fanciful, music here is a useful metaphor.
  • entirely: That would have been an entirely fanciful construction of s 1(3 ).
  • too: Is it too fanciful to imagine him speaking with a bread country accent, possibly from the Devon area?
  • quite: Much of it quite fanciful based on some of the most imaginative lobbying I have seen from any organization.

Infinitive complement

  • imagine: Is it too fanciful to imagine him speaking with a bread country accent, possibly from the Devon area?
  • suggest: Yesterday it is not being too fanciful to suggest he might have helped them win the Ashes.
  • say: I don't think it's fanciful to say that it has a noticeably more southern flavor.
  • see: Is it too fanciful to see in the portrait of the Rector that strong face implacably set against Joseph?
  • speculate: It may be fanciful to speculate on the consequences of those ' fifty women ' in Belfast City Council.

Modifies a noun

  • dress: Original red cloth, decorated with figure of woman in fanciful dress.
  • notion: And the United States missed all of this, because they believed their own myths and their own fanciful notions.
  • speculation: We think that that may be the more fanciful speculation.
  • tale: Shock horror and fanciful tales of financial corruption followed in 1995.
  • creature: What role have birds and beasts played in sacred and symbolic imagery and how were fanciful creatures perceived?
  • interpretation: But its meaning and evidential value are lost in a bewildering maze of forced or fanciful interpretations.

Used with adjective complement

  • seem: Prynn's suggestion of common work between the three parties seems fanciful however.
  • sound: This may sound fanciful, but is merely a hypothesis that would explain some odd facts.
  • appear: The figure of 170 members given for England does not appear fanciful.

Browse dictionary entries near fanciful

  1. fancier
  2. fancied
  3. fanaticize
  4. fanaticism
  5. fanatical
  6. fanatic
  7. fan vaulting
  8. fan tracery
  9. fan-tan
  10. fan palm
  1. fancy
  2. fancy dan
  3. fancy dress
  4. fancy-free
  5. fancy man
  6. fancy woman
  7. fancywork
  8. fandango
  9. fandom
  10. fane