I. noun
or phan·ta·sy ˈfantəs]ē, -aan-, -təz], ]i
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English fantasie — more at fancy
1. obsolete
a. : the act or function of forming images or representations whether in direct perception or in memory ; also : an image or impression derived through sensation
b. : hallucination ; sometimes : phantom , apparition
c. : desire , inclination
2. : imagination or fancy ; especially : the free play of creative imagination as it affects perception and productivity usually as expressed in an art form or as elicited by projective techniques of formal psychology
3. : a creation of the imaginative faculty whether expressed or merely conceived: as
a. : a fanciful design or invention
a fantasy of delicate tracery
b. : a chimerical or fantastic notion
c. : fantasia 1
d. also fantasy fiction : imaginative fiction dependent for effect on strangeness of setting (as other worlds or times) and of characters (as supernatural or unnatural beings) ; sometimes : science fiction
4. : mood or mental prepossession ; often : a whimsical or capricious mood
5. : the power or process of creating mental images (as of unrealistic or improbable happenings or distortions of previously perceived persons, objects, or events) especially with erotic content or implication in response to psychological need or through the action of drugs or illness
an object of fantasy
also : a mental image so created : daydream
sexual fantasies of adolescence and middle age
Synonyms: see fancy , imagination
II. verb
or phantasy “\
( -ed/-ing/-es )
Etymology: Middle English fantasien, from fantasie, n.
transitive verb
1. : to portray in the mind : fancy , imagine
2. obsolete : to have a fancy for
intransitive verb
1. : to indulge in fantasy or reverie : daydream
2. : to improvise in playing a musical instrument : play fantasias
III. noun
: a coin usually not intended for circulation as currency and often issued by a dubious authority (as a government-in-exile)