fan ‧ ta ‧ sy /ˈfæntəsi/ BrE AmE noun ( plural fantasies )
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: fantasie , from Latin phantasia , from Greek , 'appearance, imagination' ]
1 . [uncountable and countable] an exciting and unusual experience or situation you imagine happening to you, but which will probably never happen:
I used to have fantasies about living in Paris with an artist.
sexual fantasies
Young children sometimes can’t distinguish between fantasy and reality.
He lived in a fantasy world of his own, even as a small boy.
2 . [singular, uncountable] an idea or belief that is based only on imagination, not on real facts:
Memories can sometimes be pure fantasy, rather than actual recollections.
3 . [countable] a story, film etc that is based on imagination and not facts:
a surrealist fantasy set in a South American village
• • •
THESAURUS
■ something that you want to do
▪ dream something very special that you want to do and that you think about a lot, especially something that is not very likely to happen:
As a teenager, his dream was to become a professional footballer.
▪ ambition something that you want to achieve and that you work hard to achieve, especially in your work:
My ambition had always been to start my own business.
▪ aspirations the important things that people want from their lives – used especially about the things a society or a large group of people wants:
It’s important that young people think seriously about their career aspirations.
▪ fantasy something exciting that you imagine happening to you, which is extremely unlikely to happen and often involves sex:
schoolboy fantasies
▪ pipe dream a dream that is impossible or is extremely unlikely to happen:
Is world peace no more than a pipe dream?