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fantastical

 - 3 dictionary results

fan⋅tas⋅tic

  [fan-tas-tik]
Use fantastical in a Sentence
–adjective
1. conceived or appearing as if conceived by an unrestrained imagination; odd and remarkable; bizarre; grotesque: fantastic rock formations; fantastic designs.
2. fanciful or capricious, as persons or their ideas or actions: We never know what that fantastic creature will say next.
3. imaginary or groundless in not being based on reality; foolish or irrational: fantastic fears.
4. extravagantly fanciful; marvelous.
5. incredibly great or extreme; exorbitant: to spend fantastic sums of money.
6. highly unrealistic or impractical; outlandish: a fantastic scheme to make a million dollars betting on horse races.
7. Informal. extraordinarily good: a fantastic musical.
Also, fan⋅tas⋅ti⋅cal.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME fantastik pertaining to the imaginative faculty < ML fantasticus, var. of LL phantasticus < Gk phantastikós able to present or show (to the mind), equiv. to *phantad-, base of phantázein to make visible (akin to phānós light, bright, phaínein to make appear) + -tikos -tic

Related forms:
fan⋅tas⋅ti⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
fan⋅tas⋅ti⋅cal⋅ness, fan⋅tas⋅ti⋅cal⋅i⋅ty, noun

Synonyms:
1. Fantastic, bizarre, grotesque share a sense of deviation from what is normal or expected. Fantastic suggests a wild lack of restraint, a fancifulness so extreme as to lose touch with reality: a fantastic scheme for a series of space cities. In informal use, fantastic often means simply “exceptionally good”: a fantastic meal. Bizarre means markedly unusual or extraordinarily strange, sometimes whimsically so: bizarre costumes for Mardi Gras; bizarre behavior. Grotesque implies shocking distortion or incongruity, sometimes ludicrous, more often pitiful or tragic: a grotesque mixture of human and animal features; grotesque contrast between the forced smile and sad eyes: a gnarled tree suggesting the figure of a grotesque human being.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To fantastical
fan·tas·tic   (fān-tās'tĭk)   
adj.  

  1. Quaint or strange in form, conception, or appearance.

    1. Unrestrainedly fanciful; extravagant: fantastic hopes.

    2. Bizarre, as in form or appearance; strange: fantastic attire; fantastic behavior.

    3. Based on or existing only in fantasy; unreal: fantastic ideas about her own superiority.

  3. Wonderful or superb; remarkable: a fantastic trip to Europe.

n.  An eccentric person.

[Middle English fantastik, imagined, from Old French fantastique, from Late Latin phantasticus, imaginary, from Greek phantastikos, able to create mental images, from phantazesthai, to appear; see fantasy.]
fan·tas'ti·cal'i·ty (-tĭ-kāl'ĭ-tē) n., fan·tas'ti·cal·ly adv.
Synonyms: These adjectives apply to what is very strange or strikingly unusual. Fantastic describes what seems to have slight relation to the real world because of its strangeness or extravagance: fantastic imaginary beasts such as the unicorn.
Bizarre stresses oddness that is heightened by striking contrasts and incongruities and that shocks or fascinates: a bizarre art nouveau façade.
Grotesque refers principally to deformity and distortion that approach the point of caricature or even absurdity: statues of grotesque creatures.
Fanciful applies to what is strongly influenced by imagination, caprice, or whimsy: a fanciful pattern.
Something exotic is unusual and intriguing: painted landscapes in exotic colors.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

fantastic 
c.1387, "existing only in imagination," from O.Fr. fantastique, from L.L. phantasticus "imaginary," from Gk. phantastikos "able to imagine," from phantazein "make visible" (middle voice phantazesthai "picture to oneself"), see fantasy. Trivial sense of "wonderful, marvelous" first recorded 1938.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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