Lexic.us

Definition of Fancy

1. Adjective. Not plain; decorative or ornamented. "Fancy clothes"

2. Verb. Imagine; conceive of; see in one's mind. "Did he fancy his major works over a short period of time?"; "I can see a risk in this strategy"

3. Noun. Something many people believe that is false. "They have the illusion that I am very wealthy"

4. Verb. Have a fancy or particular liking or desire for. "They fancy more bread"; "She fancied a necklace that she had seen in the jeweler's window"

5. Noun. A kind of imagination that was held by Coleridge to be more casual and superficial than true imagination.

6. Noun. A predisposition to like something. "He had a fondness for whiskey"

Definition of Fancy

1. n. The faculty by which the mind forms an image or a representation of anything perceived before; the power of combining and modifying such objects into new pictures or images; the power of readily and happily creating and recalling such objects for the purpose of amusement, wit, or embellishment; imagination.

2. v. i. To figure to one's self; to believe or imagine something without proof.

3. v. t. To form a conception of; to portray in the mind; to imagine.

4. a. Adapted to please the fancy or taste; ornamental; as, fancy goods.

Definition of Fancy

1. Noun. The imagination; an imagined image. ¹

2. Noun. A whim. ¹

3. Noun. Love or amorous attachment. ¹

4. Noun. Any sport or hobby pursued by a group. ¹

5. Noun. The enthusiasts of such a pursuit. ¹

6. Noun. A diamond with a distinctive colour. ¹

7. Adjective. Decorative. ¹

8. Adjective. Of a superior grade. ¹

9. Adjective. Executed with skill. ¹

10. Adjective. (colloquial) Unnecessarily complicated. ¹

11. Verb. (formal) To appreciate without jealousy or greed. ¹

12. Verb. (British) would like ¹

13. Verb. (British informal) To be sexually attracted to. ¹

14. Verb. (dated) To imagine, suppose. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Fancy

1. ornamental [adj -CIER, -CIEST] : FANCILY [adv] / to take a liking to [v -CIED, -CYING, -CIES]

Medical Definition of Fancy

1. 1. Adapted to please the fancy or taste; ornamental; as, fancy goods. 2. Extravagant; above real value. "This anxiety never degenerated into a monomania, like that which led his [Frederick the Great's] father to pay fancy prices for giants." (Macaulay) Fancy ball, a ball in which porsons appear in fanciful dresses in imitation of the costumes of different persons and nations. Fancy fair, a fair at which articles of fancy and ornament are sold, generally for some charitable purpose. Fancy goods, fabrics of various colours, patterns, etc, as ribbons, silks, laces, etc, in distinction from those of a simple or plain colour or make. Fancy line, a clothed cylinder (usually having straight teeth) in front of the doffer. Fancy stocks, a species of stocks which afford great opportunity for stock gambling, since they have no intrinsic value, and the fluctuations in their prices are artificial. Fancy store, one where articles of fancy and ornament are sold. Fancy woods, the more rare and expensive furniture woods, as mahogany, satinwood, rosewood, etc. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Fancy

fanciest fancified fancifies fanciful fancifull fancifully fancifulness fancifulnesses fancify fancifying

fanciless fancily fanciness fancinesses fancruft fancy-dress fancy-dress ball fancy-free fancy-pants fancy dress

fancy goods fancy man fancy pants fancy that fancy up fancy woman fancying fancymonger fancymongers

Literary usage of Fancy

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Iliad of Homer by Homer (1796)
"... each according to his fancy, to cultivate and the life of Pope, ... travelling through a country unin- " habited, where the fancy is entertained with a ..."

Other Resources: