1
as in bizarre
conceived or made without regard for reason or reality
she harbors the fanciful notion that she has a talent for singing
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2
as in imaginary
not real and existing only in the imagination
the fanciful creatures that J.R.R. Tolkien created for his Middle Earth novels
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fanciful
In following the fanciful story of two lovers journeying separately through East and Southeast Asia in the early 20th century, Gomes mixes staged scenes with documentary footage — some of it distinctly modern, some of it seemingly more timeless.
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Alison Willmore, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
The title is much more than fanciful.
—David John Chávez, Mercury News, 30 Nov. 2025
In its first, most romantic act, Hamnet is enchanting and fanciful; Agnes traipses through the lush forests of Warwickshire, embarking upon a sweet, awkward courtship with Shakespeare.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 27 Nov. 2025
Such fanciful rumors are common in authoritarian systems, especially in the lead-up to major political events—such as the Chinese Communist Party’s fourth plenum, which took place in October, and whose outcomes are expected to set the country’s developmental direction for the next five years.
—Deng Yuwen, Foreign Affairs, 14 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fanciful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fanciful
Adjective
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His work is marked by unusual, even bizarre, material choices that encrust spatial compositions reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright’s innovative open space plans.—
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Some unnamed Chicago bartender in the early 1880s had the improbable idea of taking a Whiskey Sour and adding a little red wine to the top, inventing in a bizarre flash of insightone of the great warm weather whiskey drinks of our time.—
Adjective
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As players shoot around, Jake cradles a ball before blowing past an imaginary defender to hammer home a dunk.—
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At the opening, Natalie, bored and filled with loathing for her parents, flees her family home by retreating into imaginary worlds of vivid, eroticized violence.—
Adjective
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After the first Roundtable, Survivor stalwart Rob Cesternino — perhaps clued in by Candiace’s absurd conga line ploy to get people out of the kitchen — sniffed out that a murder in plain sight could be happening.—
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Contrary to what many may think, the researchers found no correlation between a person’s level of education and their capacity to believe in absurd conspiracies.—
Adjective
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Anyone who’s survived to 2026 knows the upper class’ fictitious fantasies still carry real, wretched consequences for the rest of us, but Season 4 plays out those ongoing scenarios to the nth degree, while condensing them into an appreciable narrative arc.—
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The series, which premiered on Netflix at the end of 2024, tells the story of the Buendía family over multiple generations and is set in the fictitious town of Macondo, Colombia, which the family founded.—
Adjective
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To do a lot less foolish, thoughtless, stupid, idiotic things.—
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No one should be defending activists who engage in the most foolish and dangerous actions!—
Adjective
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As the voice of Rumi, Ejae performed the lead vocals of all the songs for HUNTR/X, the movie's fictional k-pop girl group that moonlights as demon hunters who protect the world from soul-sucking monsters.—
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In the fictional story of the Shakespeare family, their family tragedy leads Shakespeare to write Hamlet.—
Adjective
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Finally standing in front of each other, sharing our vows with our closest family and friends, felt unreal.—
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The final form of the Mind Flayer, that crazy big Lovecraftian thing, looks unreal.—
Adjective
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The repetition of that mythic version has buttressed the belief that the fight for American independence was an event somehow separate from world history.—
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That was a really great mythic take.—
Cite this Entry
“Fanciful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fanciful. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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