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
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
Graydon, always an aesthete, got the budget to indulge his more fanciful whims.
—Michael Grynbaum, HollywoodReporter, 14 July 2025
The result is a contemporary boutique property with a touch of nostalgia, nodding to a time when the mansion halls still hosted fanciful dinner parties and soirees.
—Michaela Trimble, Vogue, 13 July 2025
But the fact that Shakespeare wrote about love potions, sleeping potions, and other fanciful elixirs isn’t conclusive evidence.
—Sam Kelly
july 8, Literary Hub, 8 July 2025
Inspired by the fanciful style of Antoni Gaudí’s Park Güell, in Barcelona; Saint Phalle worked with a team of collaborators that included her husband, Swiss sculptor Jean Tinguely, on 22 large-scale concrete sculptures, each representing a mystical figure from the tarot deck.
—Kin Woo, Vogue, 30 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for fanciful
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Michael Grynbaum, HollywoodReporter, 14 July 2025
The result is a contemporary boutique property with a touch of nostalgia, nodding to a time when the mansion halls still hosted fanciful dinner parties and soirees.
—Michaela Trimble, Vogue, 13 July 2025
But the fact that Shakespeare wrote about love potions, sleeping potions, and other fanciful elixirs isn’t conclusive evidence.
—Sam Kelly
july 8, Literary Hub, 8 July 2025
Inspired by the fanciful style of Antoni Gaudí’s Park Güell, in Barcelona; Saint Phalle worked with a team of collaborators that included her husband, Swiss sculptor Jean Tinguely, on 22 large-scale concrete sculptures, each representing a mystical figure from the tarot deck.
—Kin Woo, Vogue, 30 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for fanciful
Cite this Entry
“Fanciful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fanciful. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.
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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