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Definition of phantasy - 7 dictionary results

phan⋅ta⋅sy

  [fan-tuh-see, -zee]
Use phantasy in a Sentence
–noun, plural -sies.
fantasy.

fan⋅ta⋅sy

  [fan-tuh-see, -zee] noun, plural -sies, verb, -sied, -sy⋅ing.
–noun
1. imagination, esp. when extravagant and unrestrained.
2. the forming of mental images, esp. wondrous or strange fancies; imaginative conceptualizing.
3. a mental image, esp. when unreal or fantastic; vision: a nightmare fantasy.
4. Psychology. an imagined or conjured up sequence fulfilling a psychological need; daydream.
5. a hallucination.
6. a supposition based on no solid foundation; visionary idea; illusion: dreams of Utopias and similar fantasies.
7. caprice; whim.
8. an ingenious or fanciful thought, design, or invention.
9. Also, fantasia. Literature. an imaginative or fanciful work, esp. one dealing with supernatural or unnatural events or characters: The stories of Poe are fantasies of horror.
10. Music. fantasia (def. 1).
–verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
11. to form mental images; imagine; fantasize.
12. Rare. to write or play fantasias.
Also, phantasy.

Origin:
1275–1325; ME fantasie imaginative faculty, mental image (< AF, OF) < L phantasia < Gk phantasía an idea, notion, image, lit., a making visible; see fantastic, -y 3

Synonyms:
1. See fancy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

fantasy 
c.1325, "illusory appearance," from O.Fr. fantasie, from L. phantasia, from Gk. phantasia "appearance, image, perception, imagination," from phantazesthai "picture to oneself," from phantos "visible," from phainesthai "appear," in late Gk. "to imagine, have visions," related to phaos, phos "light." Sense of "whimsical notion, illusion" is pre-1400, followed by that of "imagination," which is first attested 1539. Sense of "day-dream based on desires" is from 1926, as is fantasize.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 2fantasy
Variant: also phantasy
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: -sied; -sy·ing
: FANTASIZE

Main Entry: phantasy
variant of FANTASY
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

fantasy fan·ta·sy (fān'tə-sē, -zē)
n.
Imagery that is more or less coherent, as in dreams and daydreams, yet unrestricted by reality. Also called phantasia.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Encyclopedia

phantasy

imaginative fiction dependent for effect on strangeness of setting (such as other worlds or times) and of characters (such as supernatural or unnatural beings). Examples include William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, and T.H. White's The Once and Future King. Science fiction can be seen as a form of fantasy, but the terms are not interchangeable, as science fiction usually is set in the future and is based on some aspect of science or technology, while fantasy is set in an imaginary world and features the magic of mythical beings.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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