Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Based on or existing only in fantasy; unreal.
  • adjective Strange or fanciful in form, conception, or appearance.
  • adjective Unrealistic; irrational.
  • adjective Exceedingly great in size or degree; extravagant.
  • adjective Wonderful or superb; remarkable.
  • noun An eccentric person.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Of the nature of a phantom or fantasy; produced or existing only in imagination; imaginary; not real.
  • Due to fantasy or whim; arising from or caused by caprice; groundless; illusive.
  • Morbidly or grotesquely fanciful; manifesting a disordered imagination; chimerical.
  • Suggestive of fantasies through oddness of figure, action, or appearance, or through an air of unreality; whimsically formed or shaped; grotesque.
  • Controlled by fantasy; indulging the vagaries of imagination; capricious: as, fantastic minds; a fantastic mistress.
  • Synonyms Grotesque, etc. (see fanciful); odd, qneer, strange, freakish, quaint.
  • noun One who acts fantastically or ridiculously; a grotesque. Sometimes used in the plural of a company of persons grotesquely dressed, and acting or parading in a ludicrous way, for amusement.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Existing only in imagination; fanciful; imaginary; not real; chimerical.
  • adjective Having the nature of a phantom; unreal.
  • adjective Indulging the vagaries of imagination; whimsical; full of absurd fancies; capricious
  • adjective Resembling fantasies in irregularity, caprice, or eccentricity; irregular; oddly shaped; grotesque.
  • noun A person given to fantastic dress, manners, etc.; an eccentric person; a fop.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Existing in or constructed from fantasy; of or relating to fantasy; fanciful.
  • adjective Not believable; implausible; seemingly only possible in fantasy.
  • adjective Wonderful; marvelous; excellent; extraordinarily good or great (used especially as an intensifier).

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective existing in fancy only
  • adjective ludicrously odd
  • adjective fanciful and unrealistic; foolish
  • adjective extraordinarily good or great ; used especially as intensifiers
  • adjective extravagantly fanciful in design, construction, appearance

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[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.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

fantasy +‎ -ic

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Examples

  • The La's were absolutely fantastic ... and that album is similarly * absolutely fantastic*; proof positive that Lee Mavers is absolutely one of our greatest songwriters.

    Word Magazine - Comments phil spector 2009

  • In intrusion fantasy the fantastic is the bringer of chaos.

    How Much Magic is Too Much/Not Enough? « 2009

  • But Mr. Smith, who earns about $90,000 a year working in new-business development for a manufacturing company, has what he calls "fantastic" medical insurance through his job.

    The Game Plan 2011

  • SNOW: After the White House, President Bush wants to build what he calls a fantastic freedom institute in Dallas.

    CNN Transcript Sep 4, 2007 2007

  • SNOW: After the White House, President Bush wants to build what he calls a fantastic freedom institute in Dallas.

    CNN Transcript Sep 4, 2007 2007

  • SNOW: After the White House, President Bush wants to build what he calls a fantastic freedom institute in Dallas.

    CNN Transcript Sep 3, 2007 2007

  • SNOW: After the White House, President Bush wants to build what he calls a fantastic freedom institute in Dallas, but first Draper says Mr. Bush told him he needs to replenish the old coffers, noting he can make what he calls ridiculous money on the lecture circuit saying I don't know what my dad gets but it's more than 50, 75.

    CNN Transcript Sep 3, 2007 2007

  • NO HUDDLE OFFENSE: Cramer called out what he called fantastic research from Goldman Sachs (GS) that removed Research in Motion (RIMM) from its conviction sell list - citing the company's patent portfolio as one bright spot along with its market share stabilizing - also valuation.

    unknown title 2011

  • DailyMu.se, on Monday, August 1, to what she describes as A fantastic reception.

    Forbes.com: News Peter Cohan 2011

  • DailyMu.se, on Monday, August 1, to what she describes as A fantastic reception.

    Forbes.com: News Peter Cohan 2011

Comments

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  • What a fantastic word.

    June 6, 2008

  • Used more and more as some sort of feeble

    intensifier.

    June 17, 2008

  • I'd say that was by far the more common usage now.

    June 17, 2008