fanciful
adjective
fan·ci·ful
ˈfan(t)-si-fəl 
1
: marked by fancy or unrestrained imagination rather than by reason and experience
a fanciful person
a fanciful tale of a monster in the woods
2
: existing in fancy (see fancy entry 2) only
a fanciful notion
the falsehoods about some fanciful secret treaties—
F. D. Roosevelt
F. D. Roosevelt3
: marked by or as if by fancy or whim
gave their children fanciful names
Synonyms
Examples of fanciful in a Sentence
a fanciful tale of a monster in the woods
They gave all their children fanciful names.
Recent Examples on the Web
For the first time, Minecraft is introducing the fanciful stylings of Dr. Seuss to the extremely popular game.
—Christian Dashiell, Parents, 15 Oct. 2024
The day of the fitting started off sweet: We were served fanciful fruit desserts and a bottle of bubbly.
—Jessie Heyman, Vogue, 15 Oct. 2024
And for the ultimate fashion-forward bride, look no further than Marques’ Almeida’s white leather jacket atop a ruffled and tiered gown, which hits on one of the spring runways’ biggest trends styling utilitarian and unexpected outerwear atop fanciful dress.
—Emily Mercer, WWD, 8 Oct. 2024
Owner Ken Coughlin has spent decades building his sprawling outpost, a fanciful mishmash of hangout spots, terraces and historic mining and other artifacts.
—Tiffany Acosta, The Arizona Republic, 4 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fanciful 
Christian Dashiell, Parents, 15 Oct. 2024
The day of the fitting started off sweet: We were served fanciful fruit desserts and a bottle of bubbly.
—Jessie Heyman, Vogue, 15 Oct. 2024
And for the ultimate fashion-forward bride, look no further than Marques’ Almeida’s white leather jacket atop a ruffled and tiered gown, which hits on one of the spring runways’ biggest trends styling utilitarian and unexpected outerwear atop fanciful dress.
—Emily Mercer, WWD, 8 Oct. 2024
Owner Ken Coughlin has spent decades building his sprawling outpost, a fanciful mishmash of hangout spots, terraces and historic mining and other artifacts.
—Tiffany Acosta, The Arizona Republic, 4 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fanciful
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fanciful.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near fanciful
Cite this Entry
“Fanciful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fanciful. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
fanciful
adjective
fan·ci·ful
ˈfan(t)-si-fəl
1
: having or showing free imagination rather than reason
a fanciful person
a fanciful tale
2
: existing in fancy only
a fanciful notion
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