1
as in excessive
going beyond a normal or acceptable limit in degree or amount
decided they would rather go without dinner than pay the hotel restaurant's fancy prices
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Relevance
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2
as in detailed
made or done with great care or with much detail
we're having a little get-together after the concert—nothing fancy
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in dream
a conception or image created by the imagination and having no objective reality
a writer with a prodigious talent for creating fancies that captivate readers young and old
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2
as in whim
a sudden impulsive and apparently unmotivated idea or action
is this a serious interest in music, or just your latest fancy that will be forgotten after a week?
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3
as in liking
positive regard for something
now that he's rich he's taken a fancy to expensive sports cars
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4
as in imagination
the ability to form mental images of things that either are not physically present or have never been conceived or created by others
to fans of Lewis Carroll, the animal creations of his fertile fancy are as real as any creature to be found at the zoo
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1
as in to imagine
to form a mental picture of
try to fancy, if you can, our mother on an elephant when she was touring India
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2
as in to enjoy
to take pleasure in
the teacher didn't fancy the idea of failing the student, even if he was the class clown
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fancy
Lisa Gutierrez
updated January 8, Kansas City Star, 8 Jan. 2026
So some of that fancy technology is going to waste.
—Camila Domonoske, NPR, 7 Jan. 2026
Sergey Radchenko, Foreign Affairs, 4 Dec. 2025
Each competes to out-fancy the other.
—Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
Ryan Schwartz, TVLine, 22 Sep. 2025
And there was a smattering of other items, which the visitor, fancying himself an amateur academic archeologist, thought worth noting.
—Ben McGrath, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fancy
Adjective
There never has been a fancy way to treat the flu.
—Noun
His approach to peacemaking has suffered from an improbable degree of improvisation, exclusion of regional expertise, and consequentially, shallowness and flights of fancy.
—Verb
After he was drafted to serve in the Vietnam War, Mason urged Michael to flee to Mexico, but Michael did not fancy himself a draft dodger.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for fancy
Adjective
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Diane Nygaard, an Oceanside resident and representative of the nonprofit Preserve Calavera, said the developer’s request for 14 waivers of city development standards is excessive.—
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Shorter days and excessive time indoors?—
Adjective
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Despite the two-month transition period since his November election, Calvo said he was not allowed to review detailed financial information about the city beyond public records such as the budget.—
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Most of the world's volcanoes that pose a risk to humans already have detailed maps of their interiors, but not Popocatépetl, despite the fact that some 25 million people live within a 62-mile radius and houses, schools, hospitals and five airports could be affected by an eruption.—
Noun
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But as his son’s college dreams were coming into focus, Dominique thought about his own path and upbringing.—
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Most cops have hero dreams, protector fantasies that sustain them through days that are mostly mundane.—
Noun
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Leven is still at the whims of the macroeconomic climate plaguing restaurants in recent years.—
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As for whether whims like that need to be indulged, Mayer, perhaps not surprisingly, is on the side of the talent.—
Noun
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Beyond the smooth texture, the skirt features dainty lace trim accents across the middle and around the hem, a vintage floral pattern, and a delicate drawstring at the waist to adjust the fit to your liking.—
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Washington under both Republican and Democratic presidents has thrown America’s weight around to mold the region to its liking.—
Noun
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For their part, many voters always seem to be searching for some idealized candidate who exists only in their imagination.—
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The Visionary Award recognizes an individual who has uniquely and consistently employed the art and science of VFX to foster imagination and ignite future discoveries by way of artistry, invention and groundbreaking work.—
Verb
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One of those techniques involves an empty chair placed in front of a client, encouraging them to imagine and speak to someone connected to unresolved emotions.—
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One way around this is to give the subject something else to imagine—another place, another conversation, a passing feeling—just long enough for the shutter, at one two-hundredth of a second, to catch something real.—
Verb
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Ball enjoys every second of their interactions, too.—
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The winner will get to enjoy Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California, with a full official Super Bowl Experience, including round-trip airfare, three-night hotel accommodations, plus a $1,000 gift card for expenses.—
Cite this Entry
“Fancy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fancy. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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