fantastic

[ fan-tas-tik ]

adjective

1. extraordinarily good; excellent:

   a fantastic restaurant.

2. Also fan·tas·ti·cal [].
   1. conceived or appearing as if conceived by an unrestrained imagination; odd and remarkable; bizarre; grotesque:

      The most fantastic rock formations are visible from the high plateau of the park’s rim trail.

      Artists rendered fantastic designs in the margin of the manuscript.

   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:

      You can’t let these fantastic fears of yours control your life.

   4. extravagantly fanciful; marvelous:

      The scenery and lighting they created for the dream sequences are truly fantastic!

   5. incredibly great or extreme; exorbitant:

      The rich are spending fantastic sums of money, even in this economy.

   6. highly unrealistic or impractical:

      They hatched a fantastic scheme to make a million dollars betting on horse races.

fantastic

/ fænˈtæstɪk /

adjective

1. strange, weird, or fanciful in appearance, conception, etc
2. created in the mind; illusory
3. extravagantly fanciful; unrealistic

   fantastic plans

4. incredible or preposterous; absurd

   a fantastic verdict

5. informal.
   very large or extreme; great

   he suffered fantastic pain

   a fantastic fortune

6. informal.
   very good; excellent
7. of, given to, or characterized by fantasy
8. not constant; capricious; fitful

   given to fantastic moods

noun

1. archaic.
   a person who dresses or behaves eccentrically

Derived Forms

• ˌfantastiˈcality, noun

Other Words From

• fan·tas·ti·cal·ly adverb
• fan·tas·ti·cal·ness fan·tas·ti·cal·i·ty [fan-tas-ti-, kal, -i-tee], noun
• su·per·fan·tas·tic adjective
• su·per·fan·tas·ti·cal·ly adverb
• un·fan·tas·tic adjective
• un·fan·tas·ti·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of fantastic¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English fantastik “pertaining to the imaginative faculty,” from Medieval Latin fantasticus, variant of Late Latin phantasticus, from Greek phantastikós “able to present the appearence (of something),” derivative of phantázein “to make present to the eye or mind” (akin to phānós “light, bright,” phaínein “to bring to light, cause to appear”) + -tikos -tic

Word History and Origins

Origin of fantastic¹

C14 fantastik imaginary, via Late Latin from Greek phantastikos capable of imagining, from phantazein to make visible

Synonym Study

See bizarre.

Example Sentences

It won’t matter how fantastic the weight feels if the top layer is itchy and uncomfortable.

From Popular-Science

The Aerospace goggles aren’t just fantastic for backcountry skiing—they would still be worth every penny if I never left the resort.

From Outside Online

This jury-rigged approach is fantastic for getting intense browning on ingredients that might overcook if they’re farther from the heat, therefore taking longer to develop desired color and caramelization.

From Eater

Your effort is rewarded with fantastic lookouts of Jordan Pond, Somes Sound, and the Atlantic, not to mention a long and wicked-fun descent.

From Outside Online

If yours is a middle-class family, maybe you’re a lights-out student, or an incredible artist, or a fantastic musician, and you are going to be reaching for the credential that can open doors to worlds that your family could never otherwise imagine.

From Time

"Clive has had a fantastic and distinguished career so we listen to what he has to say," he said.

From The Daily Beast

I had, for a long time, been curious about the place where all this fantastic stuff was made.

From The Daily Beast

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute has staged some truly fantastic shows over the past few years.

From The Daily Beast

It is completely nonsensical, and every second is fantastic.

From The Daily Beast

The story was a very subversive fairy tale by Roald Dahl, and a fantastic part.

From The Daily Beast

And is this a mere fantastic talk, or is this a thing that could be done and that ought to be done?

From Project Gutenberg

The music grew strange and fantastic—turbulent, insistent, plaintive and soft with entreaty.

From Project Gutenberg

The champagne was cold, and its subtle fumes played fantastic tricks with Edna's memory that night.

From Project Gutenberg

Mariamne had grown more fantastic, and capricious, and wayward than ever.

From Project Gutenberg

She vacantly hummed a fantastic tune as she poked at the wood embers on the hearth and munched a cracker.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• absurd
• crazy
• exotic
• fanciful
• grotesque
• imaginative
• implausible
• incredible
• insane
• ludicrous
• odd
• outlandish
• preposterous
• ridiculous
• singular
• unbelievable
• unreal
• weird