7 EXCLAM You say ' fancy ' or ' fancy that ' when you want to express surprise or disapproval. [FEELINGS ] □ It was very tasteless. Fancy talking like that so soon after his death. □ 'Fancy that!' smiled Conti.
8 PHRASE If you take a fancy to someone or something, you start liking them, usually for no understandable reason. □ Sylvia took quite a fancy to him.
9 PHRASE If something takes your fancy or tickles your fancy , you like it a lot when you see it or think of it. □ She makes her own clothes, copying any fashion which takes her fancy.
➋ fan|cy /fæ nsi/ (fancier , fanciest )
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe something as fancy , you mean that it is special, unusual, or elaborate, for example because it has a lot of decoration. □ It was packaged in a fancy plastic case with attractive graphics. □ …fancy jewellery.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe something as fancy , you mean that it is very expensive or of very high quality, and you often dislike it because of this. [INFORMAL ] □ …a fancy private school.
fa n|cy dre ss N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] Fancy dress is clothing that you wear for a party at which everyone tries to look like a famous person or a person from a story, from history, or from a particular profession. □ Guests were told to come in fancy dress.
fa ncy-free footloose and fancy-free → see footloose
fan|dan|go /fændæ ŋgoʊ/ (fandangos ) N‑COUNT A fandango is a Spanish dance in which two people dance very close together.
fan|fare /fæ nfeə r / (fanfares )
1 N‑COUNT A fanfare is a short, loud tune played on trumpets or other similar instruments to announce a special event. □ The ceremony opened with a fanfare of trumpets.
2 N‑VAR If something happens with a fanfare , it happens or is announced with a lot of publicity. If something happens without a fanfare , it happens without a lot of fuss or publicity. [JOURNALISM ] □ [+ of ] The company was privatised with a fanfare of publicity.
fang /fæ ŋ/ (fangs ) N‑COUNT [usu pl] Fangs are the two long, sharp, upper teeth that some animals have. □ The cobra sank its venomous fangs into his hand.
fan|girl /fæ ngɜː r l/ (fangirls ) N‑COUNT A fangirl is a girl or young woman who is very enthusiastic about and interested in a particular thing such as a film, entertainer, or type of music. [INFORMAL ] □ This is a site for fangirls.
fan|light /fæ nla I t/ (fanlights ) N‑COUNT A fanlight is a small window over a door or above another window.
fan|ny /fæ ni/ (fannies )
1 N‑COUNT [usu poss N ] Someone's fanny is their bottom. [AM , INFORMAL , RUDE ]
2 N‑COUNT [usu poss N ] A woman's fanny is her genitals. [BRIT , INFORMAL , VERY RUDE ]
fan|ta|sia /fænte I ziə, [AM ] -ʒə/ (fantasias ) N‑COUNT [usu sing] A fantasia is a piece of music that is not written in a traditional or fixed form. [TECHNICAL ]
fan|ta|sist /fæ ntəz I st/ (fantasists ) N‑COUNT A fantasist is someone who constantly tells lies about their life and achievements in order to make them sound more exciting than they really are. □ Singleton was a fantasist who claimed to have a karate blackbelt.
fan|ta|size /fæ ntəsa I z/ (fantasizes , fantasizing , fantasized ) in BRIT, also use fantasise 1 VERB If you fantasize about an event or situation that you would like to happen, you give yourself pleasure by imagining that it is happening, although it is untrue or unlikely to happen. □ [V + about ] I fantasised about writing music. □ [V that] Her husband died in 1967, although she fantasised that he was still alive. [Also V -ing]
2 VERB If someone fantasizes , they try to excite themselves sexually by imagining a particular person or situation. □ [V ] Research has shown that men are likely to fantasize far more frequently than women. □ [V + about/over ] I used to fantasize about her throughout my teens. [Also V n]
fan|tas|tic ◆◇◇ /fæntæ st I k/ The form fantastical is also used for meaning 3 . 1 ADJ If you say that something is fantastic , you are emphasizing that you think it is very good or that you like it a lot. [INFORMAL , EMPHASIS ] □ I have a fantastic social life. □ I thought she was fantastic.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] A fantastic amount or quantity is an extremely large one. □ …fantastic amounts of money. ● fan|tas|ti|cal|ly /fæntæ st I kli/ ADV [ADV adj/adv] □ …a fantastically expensive restaurant.
3 ADJ You describe something as fantastic or fantastical when it seems strange and wonderful or unlikely. □ Unlikely and fantastic legends grew up around a great many figures, both real and fictitious. □ The book has many fantastical aspects.
fan|ta|sy ◆◇◇ /fæ ntəzi/ (fantasies ) also phantasy
1 N‑COUNT A fantasy is a pleasant situation or event that you think about and that you want to happen, especially one that is unlikely to happen. □ …fantasies of romance and true love.
2 N‑VAR You can refer to a story or situation that someone creates from their imagination and that is not based on reality as fantasy . □ The film is more of an ironic fantasy than a horror story.
3 N‑UNCOUNT Fantasy is the activity of imagining things. □ …a world of imagination, passion, fantasy, reflection.
4 ADJ [ADJ n] Fantasy football, baseball, or another sport is a game in which players choose an imaginary team and score points based on the actual performances of the members of their team in real games. □ Haskins said he has been playing fantasy baseball for the past five years.