Synonyms for fanciful
- adjective
Most common
All synonyms
Adjective
1. Fantastical — imaginative or fantastic; ignoring reality
fantastical, whimsical, imaginative, bizarre, absurd, chimerical, fantastic, grotesque, unreal, dreamy, fictitious, quixotic, romantic, wild, ideal, capricious, notional, quaint, arbitrary, freakish, visionary, conceptual
Definitions
- adj. 1
Imaginative or fantastic; ignoring reality.
Near-synonyms: conceptual, fancied, ideal, notional
Related words
- Word family
- fancifully
Choose the right word
That is fanciful which is dictated or suggested by fancy independently of more serious considerations; the fantastic is the fanciful with the added elements of whimsicalness and extravagance.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- bizarre Sami imposed bizarre dietary restrictions on Layla.
- imaginative I struggle to understand their imaginative worlds.
- whimsical He never lost his whimsical longing for adventure.
- fantastical Rowan loves building miniature figurines of fantastical creatures and machines.
- imaginary Sami said his imaginary friend didn't have a face.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| fanciful | steady | |
| bizarre | rising | |
| imaginative | falling | |
| whimsical | rising | |
| fantastical | rising | |
| imaginary | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- wild1
- 5 letters
- ideal2, fancy2
- 6 letters
- absurd2, unreal2, quaint1, dreamy2, fickle2
- 7 letters
- bizarre2
- 8 letters
- romantic3, notional3, freakish, quixotic3
- 9 letters
- fantastic3, arbitrary4, imaginary5, visionary4, grotesque2, whimsical3
- 10 letters
- conceptual4, fictitious3, capricious3, chimerical4
- 11 letters
- imaginative5, fantastical
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (ideal2 = 2 syllables).