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Definition of fantasticnext
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Synonym Chooser

How is the word fantastic different from other adjectives like it?

The words bizarre and grotesque are common synonyms of fantastic. While all three words mean "conceived, made, or carried out without adherence to truth or reality," fantastic may connote extravagance in conception or ingenuity of decorative invention.

dreamed up fantastic rumors

When is it sensible to use bizarre instead of fantastic?

The meanings of bizarre and fantastic largely overlap; however, bizarre applies to the sensationally strange and implies violence of contrast or incongruity of combination.

a bizarre medieval castle in the heart of a modern city

Where would grotesque be a reasonable alternative to fantastic?

Although the words grotesque and fantastic have much in common, grotesque may apply to what is conventionally ugly but artistically effective or it may connote ludicrous awkwardness or incongruity often with sinister or tragic overtones.

grotesque statues on the cathedral
though grieving, she made a grotesque attempt at a smile

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fantastic The slugger had a fantastic 2025 campaign, leading MLB with 146 runs and 380 total bases and leading the National League in slugging percentage and OPS. Aaron Coloma, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Nov. 2025 This is a fantastic moment for my team and the entire zoo to share! Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 7 Nov. 2025 Blue Cowboy’s pairing of Cale’s narrator and Will the cowboy — so handsome, so soulful, so repressed as to be nearly fantastical — heightens your awareness of the class and political divides at play. Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2025 In 2016, the brand was acquired by Sazerac, the parent company of Kentucky distillery Buffalo Trace, and has put out some fantastic spirits since then like last year’s 27-year-old bourbon. Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 5 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for fantastic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fantastic
Adjective
  • His work is marked by unusual, even bizarre, material choices that encrust spatial compositions reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright’s innovative open space plans.
    Edward Keegan, Chicago Tribune, 11 Jan. 2026
  • 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.
    Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 10 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • While Paris is often framed as endlessly romantic, Wells says the day-to-day realities can be isolating.
    Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 8 Jan. 2026
  • Safe to say a breakup album is off the table, as the artist is back in her romantic era.
    Emily Kelleher, InStyle, 7 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • 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.
    Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Jan. 2026
  • In the fictional story of the Shakespeare family, their family tragedy leads Shakespeare to write Hamlet.
    Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 12 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • First, of course, is Nakache’s incredible resilience in the face of the demons of his past, which stem from the greater history of his country.
    Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 7 Jan. 2026
  • There were some incredible individual seasons across positions like San Francisco RB Christian McCaffrey, Seattle WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cleveland DE Myles Garrett.
    Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 7 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • This has been a wonderful season.
    Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 10 Jan. 2026
  • Keep reading to discover all of the wonderful possibilities this tiny home unlocks, for just $9,800.
    Caroline Hughes, Travel + Leisure, 10 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • 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.
    Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Jan. 2026
  • 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.
    Joe Wilkins Published Jan 8, Futurism, 8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • The neighborhood/area Mount Etna’s dark mass looms over Zash and the surrounding area, conferring special energy and fertile soil where olive groves, fruit trees, and more exotic cacti and banana trees vie for space.
    Rosalyn Wikeley, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Jan. 2026
  • The shift could eliminate the need for exotic, unproven optical packages designed simply to replace a short-reach cable.
    Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • As players shoot around, Jake cradles a ball before blowing past an imaginary defender to hammer home a dunk.
    Mirin Fader, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
  • 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.
    Erin Somers, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Fantastic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fantastic. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on fantastic

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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