fantasy
(Informal)
[noun]
Synonyms:
- imagination, creativity, fancy, invention, originality
- daydream, dream, flight of fancy, illusion, mirage, pipe dream, reverie, vision

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Contrasted words: actuality, fact, reality
Related Words: conceiving, envisioning, fancying, imagining, externalizing, objectifying, caprice, freak, vagary, whim, whimsy, bizarrerie, grotesquerie

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English Thesaurus: dream, ambition, aspirations, fantasy, pipe dream, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

fan‧ta‧sy /ˈfæntəsi/ 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

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

fantasy
noun
ADJ. pure, sheer Most of what they told us was pure fantasy.
wild She dismissed the idea as a wild fantasy.
personal, private | childhood, childish | erotic, romantic, sexual | male
VERB + FANTASY enjoy, have, indulge in | build, weave She had woven a whole fantasy about living in a cottage by the sea.
cherish, nourish I cherished the fantasy that I might one day have a son who would fulfil the dream.
act out Children can act out their fantasies in a secure environment.
fulfil, live (out), play out, satisfy My childhood fantasies were finally fulfilled. He was able to play out his fantasy of pop stardom.
FANTASY + NOUN life, world living in a fantasy world
PREP. ~ about She had a fantasy about going to live on a South Pacific island.
PHRASES the realms of fantasy The idea belonged in the realms of fantasy.
a world of fantasy She felt she had entered a world of fantasy.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

fantasy
noun
BAD: Were the voices real or just products of his fantasy?
GOOD: Were the voices real or just products of his imagination?

Usage Note:
fantasy = a picture in the mind produced by the imagination, especially one which is very different from reality: 'He lived in a world of fantasy.'
imagination = (the part of the mind with) the ability to produce mental pictures: 'Unlike adults, young children are usually full of imagination.' 'His paintings show great technical skill but a lack of imagination.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

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?

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

dream the thoughts, images, and feelings that go through your mind while you are asleep:
I had a strange dream last night -- you and I were in some sort of forest.
nightmare a very unpleasant and frightening dream:
She still has terrible nightmares about the accident.
daydream a series of pleasant thoughts that go through your mind when you are awake, so that you do not notice what is happening around you:
Neil was in a daydream, and didn’t hear the teacher call his name.
reverie formal a state of imagining or thinking about pleasant things, that is like dreaming:
The doorbell rang, shaking her from her reverie.
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?

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲