as in imagining
to form a mental picture of
all those lottery players fantasizing themselves as living in extravagant luxury
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Recent Examples of fantasizing
But what was more interesting to me are those who aren’t fantasizing about being in a fictional world, but who are fantasizing about being a different reader, in a more secure nonfictional world.
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James Folta, Literary Hub, 13 Jan. 2026
The irony here is that many in Washington have been openly fantasizing about how advanced AI systems could revolutionize military strategy and reshape geopolitics—to such an extent that this speculation has fueled a kind of arms race with China.
—Damon Beres, The Atlantic, 5 Jan. 2026
In the face of that reality—the death, functionally, of the American dream—millennials, Gen Zers and Gen Alphaers have started fantasizing about the abolition of money, of technology, of progress entirely, to the point of dreaming about regressing away from humanity itself.
—Hazlitt, 3 Dec. 2025
Civility ⬇ Virginia's Jay Jones sent texts fantasizing about shooting a Republican opponent, then won his race for attorney general.
—Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
Graham Johnson, a computational biologist and scientific illustrator at the Allen Institute for Cell Science, recalls fantasizing at a lunch table, more than 15 years ago, about a computer model of a cell so detailed, so complete, that scientists could watch such processes happening.
—Veronique Greenwood, Time, 14 Oct. 2025
Luis hangs a poster of his favorite movie star, Ingrid, and spends his time fantasizing about Ingrid as Aurora.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 11 Oct. 2025
The Brewers arrived in Chicago holding a two-game lead and fantasizing about resting their staff after a sweep.
—Andy McCullough, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
For something completely different, some investors have been picking up value stocks rather than fantasizing about the possibilities of Silicon Valley’s dream world.
—John Navin, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fantasizing
Verb
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Most folks had some difficulty even imagining air travel.—
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Lapine and Sondheim demonstrate how the artist might have put his huge painting together by imagining who the people in Seurat’s painting might be.—
Verb
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As a New Yorker herself, Bellizzi treasured envisioning the cramped Lower East Side milieu that opens the film.—
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While the commission’s is formally charged with re-envisioning Medi-Cal, CHCF policy experts said the programs future cannot be separated from rising affordability challenges across California’s broader insurance landscape.—
Verb
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Thru-hiking clinics appeal to those dreaming of tackling long-distance trails like the Appalachian Trail.—
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But, the possibility of printing a human liver, one that would be made from a person’s own stem cells, well, that is enough to get anyone dreaming.—
Verb
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Hotel employees recounted seeing Short make several telephone calls in the lobby that evening, growing increasingly frantic.—
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On an average, companies are seeing 25%-35% improvement across important key performance indicators as a direct impact of using AI, the report said.—
Verb
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As Anna and William’s wedding approaches, the family is already picturing the dance that started it all.—
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When picturing their perfect voyage, nearly half (40 percent) of respondents picked the Mediterranean as their top destination.—
Cite this Entry
“Fantasizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fantasizing. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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