English Dictionary

Definition of “fancies”

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Word Frequency

Word Frequency of fancies

fancies1 () 

Definitions

plural noun

  1. of fancy

fancies2 () 

Definitions

3rd person singular present tense of verb

  1. of fancy

fancy (ˈfænsɪ Pronunciation for fancy ) 

Definitions

adjective

-cier, -ciest
  1. not plain; ornamented or decorative ⇒ a fancy cake, fancy clothes
  2. requiring skill to perform; intricate ⇒ a fancy dance routine
  3. arising in the imagination; capricious or illusory
  4. (often used ironically) superior in quality or impressive ⇒ a fancy course in business administration
  5. higher than expected ⇒ fancy prices
  6. (of a domestic animal) bred for particular qualities

noun

(plural) -cies
  1. a sudden capricious idea; whim
  2. a sudden or irrational liking for a person or thing
  3. the power to conceive and represent decorative and novel imagery, esp in poetry. Fancy was held by Coleridge to be more casual and superficial than imagination See imagination (sense 4)
  4. an idea or thing produced by this
  5. a mental image
  6. taste or judgment, as in art of dress
  7. Also called: fantasy, fantasia (music) a composition for solo lute, keyboard, etc, current during the 16th and 17th centuries

  8. See the fancy

verb

-cies, -cying, -cied tr
  1. to picture in the imagination
  2. to suppose; imagine ⇒ I fancy it will rain
  3. often used with a negative to like ⇒ I don't fancy your chances!
  4. reflexive to have a high or ill-founded opinion of oneself ⇒ he fancied himself as a doctor
  5. (informal) to have a wish for; desire ⇒ she fancied some chocolate
  6. (British, informal) to be physically attracted to (another person)
  7. to breed (animals) for particular characteristics

exclamation

  1. Also: fancy that!. an exclamation of surprise or disbelief

Derived Forms

ˈfancily adverb
ˈfanciness noun

Word Origin

C15 fantsy, shortened from fantasie; see fantasy

Synonyms

View thesaurus entry
= elaborate, decorated, decorative, extravagant, intricate, baroque, ornamented, ornamental, ornate, elegant, fanciful, embellished,
= expensive, high-quality, classy, flashy, swish, showy, ostentatious
= whim, thought, idea, desire, urge, notion, humour, impulse, inclination, caprice
= imagination, image, impression, conception
= delusion, dream, vision, fantasy, nightmare, daydream, chimera, phantasm
= wish for, want, desire, would like, hope for, dream of, relish, long for, crave, be attracted to, yearn for, thirst for, hanker after, have a yen for
= be attracted to, find attractive, desire, lust after, like, prefer, favour, take to, go for, be captivated by, have an eye for, have a thing about, have eyes for, take a liking to
= suppose, think, believe, imagine, guess, reckon, conceive, infer, conjecture, surmise, think likely, be inclined to think

Quotations including 'fancies'

  • "Ever let the fancy roam,Pleasure never is at home" John Keats
  • "Tell me where is fancy bred,Or in the heart or in the head?" William Shakespeare

Example Sentences Including 'fancies'

A middle-aged man who fancies himself with the ladies leaves his wife without notice.
Murray, Stephen Death and Transfiguration
According to another witness, brown hair, big muscles, fancies himself, drives a white Transit,' I said.
Val McDermid KICK BACK (2002)
Angela Day went the breakfast show route and shares their food fancies.
SA Star (2005)
He can't be looking for food up here, not unless there's some kind of rock he fancies.
J.R.R. Tolkien THE LORD OF THE RINGS (2004)
Most of all, there's the artist as dramatist, enacting his or her own romantic fancies.
Glasgow Herald (2001)
Staff are kitted out in tennis gear, while rackets and balls are available if anyone fancies a rally with their pint.
Sun, News of the World (2001)
Suzuki will now be in the driver's seat and will not have to mind the whims and fancies of ministers and bureaucrats.
India Today (2002)
When a young man fancies a young woman, he drops by to visit his girl after her family has retired.
SA Star (2005)
`We'll have fancies, "he said, smiling at the young woman, `a large plateful of fancies.
Paige, Frances The Glasgow Girls

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