fantasize
verb
Simple meaning
To indulge in fantasy.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
fantuhsyzSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈfæntəsaɪz
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
intransitive
To indulge in fantasy; to imagine things only possible in fantasy.
“He is fantasizing when he says he plans to start his own company.”
intransitivetransitive
To portray in the mind, using fantasy.
“He is fantasizing the ideal wife.”
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To indulge in fantasy; to imagine things only possible in fantasy.
Used this way, fantasize is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“He is fantasizing when he says he plans to start his own company.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Indulgeverb
“He is fantasizing when he says he plans to start his own company.”
Portrayverb
“He is fantasizing the ideal wife.”
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.