I. ˈfan(t)sē, -aan-, -ain-, -si noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English fantsy, contraction of fantasie fantasy, fancy, from Middle French, fantasy, from Late Latin phantasia imagination, from Latin, mental image, from Greek, appearance, image, faculty of imagination, from phantazein to make visible, present to the mind, from phainein to show; akin to Old English ge bōn ed polished, Middle Dutch boenen to scour, scrub, Greek phaos, phōs light, Sanskrit bhāti it shines
1.
a. : a liking formed by caprice rather than reason : inclination
a fancy for a stroll by the river this evening
how does this strike your fancy ?
had a fancy for rich delicacies
b. : amorous fondness : love or desire
sometimes the queen took a fancy to handsome lads about the court
2.
a. : an opinion or notion formed without much reflection : caprice , whim
the prediction of his return is based on a mere fancy
b. : an image or representation of something formed in the mind
what sorry fancies trouble you so?
c. : a product of mental conception (as an invention, device, or design)
what a pretty fancy her drawing is
an excellent trout fly, my father's own fancy
3. : a short instrumental composition of impromptu character — compare fantasia
4. archaic : fantastic quality or state
5.
a. obsolete : something that pleases or entertains the taste or caprice : conceit
b. : a fabric or an article of clothing manufactured to meet the demand of temporary styles and characterized by novelty in weave, color, design
c. : a diamond of gemstone quality and a color other than white or blue-white
6.
a. : imagination especially of a capricious sort ; often : illusion : delusive imagination
b. : the power of conception and representation used in artistic expression (as by a poet or painter) : imagination ; especially : the power of conceiving and giving artistic form to that which is not existent, known, or experienced
c. : the invention of the novel and the unreal by recombining the elements found in reality so that life is represented in alien surroundings or essentially changed in natural physical and mental constitution (as in centaurs or giants) — distinguished from imagination
d. : the conceiving power which concerns itself with imagery (as figures of speech and details of a decorative design) : conceit
7. : judgment or taste (as in matters of art or dress)
a person of delicate fancy
8. : a plant having variegated or parti-colored flowers ; also : a variegated or parti-colored flower
9.
a. : persons who pursue or are enthusiastic over some particular art, practice, or amusement: as
(1) : sporting characters
(2) : the followers of pugilism
(3) : fanciers of animals
the bulldog fancy
b. : the object of interest of such a fancy ; especially : pugilism
10. also fancy roller : a carding roller with long teeth used to raise fiber to the top of the main cylinder
Synonyms:
fancy , fantasy , phantasy , phantasm , vision , dream , daydream , and nightmare can signify, in common, a vivid idea or image present in the mind but having no concrete or objective reality. fancy applies to anything conceived purely in the imagination whether it combines the elements of reality or is pure invention, usually however, carrying the implication of something consequently more or less trifling
was this only the fancy of a visionary, or … would it come true in the end? — Ellen Glasgow
the status of archeological fact and fancy in the world today — W.W.Taylor
fantasy is an imaginative product (often extended and often in literary or artistic form) the greater part or the significant part of which has no correspondence with an objective reality, usually implying an unrestrained inventiveness
lost himself in a pictured fantasy of a London working-class shopping district on a Saturday night — C.S.Forester
understood Bloom's mind as a river of nonsequiturs and fantasies of fear, guilt and desire — Time
intoxicated by fantasies of world conquest — Nathaniel Peffer
to cleanse our minds of all fantasy and daydream — Economic Council Letter
phantasy , generally interchangeable with fantasy , sometimes applies more to the psychological image-making power in general or its product, often also standing as a clearer antonym of truth or reality
the distinctions between dream and reality, imagination and fact are blurred, and the speeches and activities of his characters are a further acting out of the schizophrenic's lonely phantasy -life, a charade in which the fixed meaning is contactlessness — Isaac Rosenfeld
on the stage phantasy, a strange persuasive illusion, reigns — Leonide Zarine
probably in his life, certainly in his poetry, there is no sharp boundary between phantasy and reality — H.S.Canby
phantasm may apply to a phantasy, a mental image, or to a fantasy, especially a hallucination
held that only the Supreme Being exists and all that we call the natural world is illusion, a phantasm of the human mind having no real existence of its own — Radhagovinda Basak
the figures in the rooming house, in the bars and cabarets slid out of his thoughts like phantasms that had no real existence — Donn Byrne
vision generally applies to what the mind sees so clearly or concretely as to suggest concrete reality, as if revealed by a supernatural power or by vivid intuition, sometimes applying to an image of something one wishes strongly to realize, often suggesting something spiritual in essence and therefore beyond the general grasp of the senses
what visions and revelations God may have granted — Willa Cather
visions of suddenly acquired wealth began to float in their minds — Sherwood Anderson
our vision of world law and some sort of worldwide law enforcement agency — Saturday Review
dream applies to the ideas and especially the images present to the mind in sleep. Figuratively, like daydream , it suggests vague or idle, commonly happy, imaginings of future events or imaginative projections of the ideal self or life; unlike daydream , however, dream can apply to a serious, though usually idealized, envisioning of a realizable, often planned, future event or state of affairs
to wake from a bad dream
were it not for the opressions and monotonies of daily experience, the realm of dream and reverie would not be attractive — John Dewey
a dream of a better society in which to live
the shock that will bring them out of their daydreams into today's realities — Science News Letter
a daydream, which is wishful thinking and an attempt to escape the experience of oneself — Life
daydreams of a better world — Fortune
nightmare applies to any frightful and oppressive dream which occurs in sleep or by extension to any vision or experience which inspires terror or cannot easily be shaken off
to wake in a cold sweat from a nightmare
how many of our daydreams would darken into nightmares, were there a danger of their coming true — L.P.Smith
a marriage might be a nightmare to both partners — F.L.Allen
Synonym: see in addition imagination .
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
transitive verb
1.
a. : to be pleased with especially on account of external appearance or manners : like , enjoy : have a taste for
it's natural to fancy people who agree with us
could fancy a bowl of chowder right now
b. obsolete : to love or desire (a person)
2. obsolete
a. : to suit the fancy of : please
b. : to arrange according to a conception of fancy : design , devise
3. : to form a conception of : imagine — used imperatively to imply surprise
fancy that
or to attract attention (as to a point of view)
fancy our embarassment
just fancy how we felt
4. : to believe without any evidence or on the basis of false evidence or misconception
5. : to believe without being certain : be inclined to think
I fancy he will act quickly
6. : to transform in fancy : visualize or interpret as
I had such a scare; I fancied that rock was a crouching wolf
— often used with to be
I fancied myself to be a child once more
intransitive verb
1. : to believe or imagine something without proof or proper grounds : build up fancies
idly fancying about all sorts of things as we drowsed in the shade
let me fancy while I may
2. obsolete : to experience love or desire
Synonyms: see like , think
III. adjective
( -er/-est )
1. : dependent or based on fancy : whimsical , irregular
a fancy display of bad manners
2.
a. : adapted to please the fancy or senses ; usually : ornamental or elegant rather than utilitarian — often opposed to plain
skilled in plain sewing and fancy needlework
fancy shoes with satin bows and 3-inch heels
b. : of particular excellence : of a quality distinctly above the average : specially selected — used especially of foodstuffs and in some schemes of grading designating the highest of a series of grades of quality
fancy peaches packed in heavy syrup
fancy fresh fruits and vegetables
c. of a gem : of a color other than that usually considered standard
fancy diamonds occur in red, green, blue, and golden to brownish yellow and include the most costly gemstones
d. of an animal or plant : bred for special qualities especially such as lack practical utility
fancy goldfish with bulging eyes and immense fins
3. : based on conceptions of the fancy rather than reality
fancy sketches of nature
4.
a. : dealing in fancy goods
a fancy department stocking notions, bric-a brac, and other fripperies
or in goods of fancy quality
in the long run it often pays to patronize a fancy butcher who properly grades and trims his meats
a fancy delicatessen
b. : above real value or the usual market price
they ask fancy prices at that stand but everything is fresh and good
: premium , top ; often : excessive , extravagant
during the war fancy rents were paid for mere hovels
5. : executed with manner or method requiring technical skill and with superior grace, ease, and harmony
fancy diving
fancy techniques in schooling horses
6. of a plant or plant part : parti-colored
fancy carnations