I. (ˈ)fan.|tastik, -aan-, fən.ˈt-, -taas-, -stēk adjective
also fan·tas·ti·cal -stə̇kəl, -stēk- ; or phan·tas·tic or phan·tas·ti·cal
Etymology: fantastic from Middle English fantastic, fantastik, from Middle French & Medieval Latin; Middle French fantastique, from Medieval Latin fantasticus, from Late Latin phantasticus imaginary, from Greek phantastikos able to produce a mental image, from phantazein to make visible; fantastical from Middle English, from fantastic, fantastik + -al — more at fancy
1. obsolete : of, belonging to, or constituting fantasy ; especially : phantasmal
2. usually fantastic
a. : based on fantasy rather than reason : imaginary , irrational , unreal
this fantastic assumption of neutralism is not unknown among some ritualistic liberals — Sidney Hook
broadly : foolish , unrealistic
a fantastic idea of his own importance
b. : conceived or giving the impression of having been conceived by unrestrained fancy
fantastic new space and nuclear weapons — Jack Raymond
: exhibiting strange, grotesque, inappropriate, or startlingly novel characteristics
fantastic as the situation was — a landlubber second in command — Jack London
often : unsuitable , quaint , eccentric
a fantastic costume for street wear
c. : so extreme as to challenge belief especially by reason of magnitude or extent : unbelievable
the bomb did fantastic damage
a fantastic industrial complex of steel, coal, machine tools, and other heavy industries — M.S.Handler
broadly : exceedingly or excessively large or great
spent fantastic sums on his library
the housing shortage reached fantastic proportions — Gerda Luft
3.
a. sometimes fantastical : given to or marked by extravagant fantasy, unrestrained imagination, or extreme individuality and deviation from some accepted norm : odd , eccentric
one need not have a very fantastic imagination to see spirits there — Thomas Gray
a strange fantastic mind
a man fantastical in dress
b. : following no set pattern : capricious
fantastic acts of kindness
the fantastic irregularity of the dunes
Synonyms:
bizarre , grotesque , antic : fantastic suggests unrestrained imagination and unbridled fancy, extravagant conception, or wild or highly imaginative remoteness from reality
explosions, fantastic, far off, bright green or violet or golden — C.P.Aiken
fantastic figures, with bulbous heads, the circumference of a bushel, grinned enormously in his face — Nathaniel Hawthorne
helped their panic as best he could by sending Congo natives over to the Tanganyika side to spread the most fantastic rumors he could dream up — Joseph Millard
bizarre applies to the sensationally, colorfully queer or strange, often through violent contrasts and incongruities
temple sculpture became bizarre — rearing monsters, fiery horses, great pillared halls teeming with sculptures — Atlantic
the restaurants of bizarre design — one like a hat, another like a rabbit, a third like an old shoe, another a fish — American Guide Series: California
it was bizarre in the extreme. It was as if a judge, wearing the black cap, had suddenly put out his tongue at the condemned — J.C.Powys
grotesque applies to the incongruously distorted, to ridiculous ugliness or incompatibility
there was a grotesque look in his face, as if it had been pulled out of shape by some sudden twist — Ellen Glasgow
the crescendo and diminuendo of the planes, the agitated noise of patrol vessels and the vicious challenge of the guns were all grotesque against the still serenity of the moonlight — Eleanor Dark
grotesque serpents eight fathoms long that churned the seas, huge reptiles that beat the air with wings of nightmare breadth — P.E.More
antic , now less common than others in this set, may suggest ludicrous clownish exuberance of action
the Friday-night Mad Arts Balls, Mad Hatters Balls, Pagan Routs, and similar antic gatherings — Lillian Ross
in the course of Kaye's antic fun with this plot, he makes an entrance with his head on a platter, gorges himself in fast motion at a feast, keeps a roomful of conspirators hidden from one another, tugs frantically at a sword that refuses to come out of its scabbard — Time
Synonym: see in addition imaginary .
II. noun
( -s )
1. archaic : a person with fantastic ideas
2. obsolete : a person given to fantastic behavior (as in choice of dress or in manners)