fantastic

A2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /fænˈtæs.tɪk/ UK [fanˈtʰas.tɪk(ʰ)] See IPA manual

Freq #1515

Meanings

1

adj
Extremely good; wonderful.

I had a fantastic vacation and can't wait to tell you about it.
2

adj
Belonging to fantasy; strange and hard to believe.

He told fantastic stories of dragons and goblins.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · extremely good; wonderful. wonderful amazing awesome

2 adj · belonging to fantasy;... fantastical unrealistic wild

More absurd bizarre crazy fanciful foolish insane nonsensical preposterous unreal

Opposites

realistic reasonable

Word family

Derived forms fabtasticfanfreakingtasticfantabulousfantasciencefantasterrificfantastical fantasticallyfantasticismfantasticityfantasticizefantasticlyfantasticness

Related forms bizarrocurious dreamlike eccentric extravagantfantasisefantasizefantasyfar-outfunny grotesque implausible

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

fantastic architecture
architecture with strange, imaginative forms that seem to belong to a fantasy

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Fantastic entered English in late Middle English from Greek phantastikos, associated with a vision, and originally meant “existing only in the imagination” or “unreal.” Its familiar approving sense “wonderful” or “excellent” dates from the 1930s.

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French fantastique, borrowed from Late Latin phantasticus, borrowed from Ancient Greek φᾰντᾰστῐκός (phăntăstĭkós, “imaginary, fantastic; fictional”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to shine”). Equivalent to fantasy + -tic. Doublet of fantastique.

*bʰeh₂- Proto-Indo-European fantastique Middle French phantasticus la-lat φᾰντᾰστῐκός Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# fantastic

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /fænˈtæs.tɪk/
**IPA (UK):** [fanˈtʰas.tɪk(ʰ)]
**Frequency rank:** 1515

## Meanings
1. Extremely good; wonderful.
2. Belonging to fantasy; strange and hard to believe.

## Examples
- I had a fantastic vacation and can't wait to tell you about it.
- He told fantastic stories of dragons and goblins.

## Synonyms
- absurd
- bizarre
- crazy
- fanciful
- foolish
- insane
- nonsensical
- preposterous
- unreal
- wild

## Antonyms
- realistic
- reasonable

## Derived Forms
- fabtastic
- fanfreakingtastic
- fantabulous
- fantascience
- fantasterrific
- fantastical
- fantastically
- fantasticism
- fantasticity
- fantasticize
- fantasticly
- fantasticness

## Related Forms
- bizarro
- curious
- dreamlike
- eccentric
- extravagant
- fantasise
- fantasize
- fantasy
- far-out
- funny
- grotesque
- implausible

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *bʰeh₂-
- Root: fantastique
- Root: phantasticus
- Root: φᾰντᾰστῐκός

## Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French fantastique, borrowed from Late Latin phantasticus, borrowed from Ancient Greek φᾰντᾰστῐκός (phăntăstĭkós, “imaginary, fantastic; fictional”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to shine”). Equivalent to fantasy + -tic. Doublet of fantastique.

## AI Etymology
Fantastic was borrowed from Middle French fantastique, borrowed from Late Latin phantasticus, borrowed from Ancient Greek φᾰντᾰστῐκός (phăntăstĭkós, “imaginary, fantastic; fictional”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to shine”). Equivalent to fantasy + -tic. Doublet of fantastique. In current use, the main senses are “Extremely good; wonderful” and “Belonging to fantasy; strange and hard to believe”.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

markdown