fancy, fantasy

fancy, fantasy
Fancy is a term for imagination that is light, playful, unreal, and whimsical: "I often indulge in the happy fancy that I am both rich and powerful." "Sue's belief that she is irresistible is merely her playful fancy." "She let her fancy play with the idea of a luxurious trip to Paris." Fantasy is applied to that kind of fancy that is unrestrained, extravagant, and erratic: "It is a dangerous fantasy to believe that you can fly through the air by flapping your arms." "The fantasy of this artist resulted in paintings that are weird and unbelievable."

Dictionary of problem words and expressions. . 1975.

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  • fancy — n 1 Caprice, freak, whim, whimsy, conceit, vagary, crotchet 2 imagination, fantasy Antonyms: experience 3 Fancy, fantasy, phantasy, phantasm, vision, dream, daydream, nightmare are comparable when they denote a vivid idea or image, or a series of …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • fancy — fanciness, n. /fan see/, n., pl. fancies, adj., fancier, fanciest, v., fancied, fancying, interj. n. 1. imagination or fantasy, esp. as exercised in a capricious manner. 2. the artistic ability of creating unreal or whimsical imagery, decorative… …   Universalium

  • fancy — See fancy, fantasy …   Dictionary of problem words and expressions

  • fantasy — See fancy, fantasy …   Dictionary of problem words and expressions

  • Fancy — Fan cy (f[a^]n s[y^]), n.; pl. {Fancies}. [Contr. fr. fantasy, OF. fantasie, fantaisie, F. fantaisie, L. phantasia, fr. Gr. ???????? appearance, imagination, the power of perception and presentation in the mind, fr. ???????? to make visible, to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Fancy —   [ fænsɪ; englisch, eigentlich »Fantasie«],    1) die, / s, Musik: Fantasy [ fæntəsɪ], die der Geschichte der musikalischen Fantasie zugehörige Hauptform der englischen Kammermusik von etwa 1575 bis 1680. Sie entwickelte sich aus dem… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • fancy — ► VERB (fancies, fancied) 1) Brit. informal feel a desire for. 2) Brit. informal find sexually attractive. 3) regard as a likely winner. 4) imagine. 5) used to express surprise: fancy that! …   English terms dictionary

  • fancy — [fan′sē] n. pl. fancies [ME fantsy, contr. < fantasie: see FANTASY] 1. imagination, now esp. light, playful, or whimsical imagination 2. illusion or delusion 3. a mental image 4. an arbitrary idea; notion; caprice; whim 5. an …   English World dictionary

  • fancy — (n.) mid 15c., contraction of FANTASY (Cf. fantasy), it took the older and longer word s sense of inclination, whim, desire. Meaning fans of an amusement or sport, collectively is attested by 1735, especially (though not originally) of the prize… …   Etymology dictionary

  • fantasy — 1 fancy, imagination Analogous words: imagining, fancying, conceiving, envisioning (see THINK): externalizing, objectifying (see REALIZE) 2 *fancy, phantasy, phantasm, vision, dream, daydream, nightmare Analogous words: *delusion, illusion,… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

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