fan ‧ ta ‧ size BrE AmE ( also fantasise British English ) /ˈfæntəsaɪz/ verb [intransitive and transitive]
to imagine that you are doing something which is very pleasant or exciting, but which is very unlikely to happen SYN dream
fantasize about
Sometimes she fantasized about buying a boat and sailing around the world.
fantasize that
I used to fantasize that my real parents were famous movie stars.
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THESAURUS
▪ imagine to form a picture or idea in your mind about what something might be like:
When I think of Honolulu, I imagine long white beaches and palm trees.
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I can’t really imagine being a millionaire.
▪ visualize to form a picture of someone or something in your mind, especially something that is definitely going to happen or exist in the future:
Anna visualized meeting Greg again at the airport.
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The finished house may be hard to visualize.
▪ picture to form a clear picture of something or someone in your mind:
I can still picture my father, even though he died a long time ago.
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The town was just how she had pictured it from his description.
▪ envisage /ɪnˈvɪzɪdʒ/ especially British English , envision to imagine something as possible or likely to happen in the future:
How do you envisage your career developing over the next ten years?
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They had envisioned the creation of a single armed force, small but efficient.
▪ conceive of something formal to imagine a situation, especially one that is difficult to imagine:
For many people, music is so important that they cannot conceive of life without it.
▪ fantasize to imagine something exciting that you would like to happen, but that is very unlikely to happen:
I used to fantasize about becoming a film star.
▪ daydream to imagine pleasant things, so that you forget where you are and what you should be doing:
Mark began to daydream, and didn’t even hear the teacher’s question.
▪ hallucinate to imagine that you are seeing things that are not really there, especially because you are ill or have taken drugs:
The drug that can cause some people to hallucinate.
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When I saw the walls moving, I thought I must be hallucinating.