fancy

fancy
    adj 1: not plain; decorative or ornamented; "fancy handwriting";
           "fancy clothes" [ant: {plain}]
    n 1: something many people believe that is false; "they have the
         illusion that I am very wealthy" [syn: {illusion},
         {fantasy}, {phantasy}, {fancy}]
    2: a kind of imagination that was held by Coleridge to be more
       casual and superficial than true imagination
    3: a predisposition to like something; "he had a fondness for
       whiskey" [syn: {fondness}, {fancy}, {partiality}]
    v 1: imagine; conceive of; see in one's mind; "I can't see him
         on horseback!"; "I can see what will happen"; "I can see a
         risk in this strategy" [syn: {visualize}, {visualise},
         {envision}, {project}, {fancy}, {see}, {figure}, {picture},
         {image}]
    2: have a fancy or particular liking or desire for; "She fancied
       a necklace that she had seen in the jeweler's window" [syn:
       {fancy}, {go for}, {take to}]
    

Fancy \Fan"cy\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Fancied}, p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Fancying}.]
   1. To figure to one's self; to believe or imagine something
      without proof.
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            If our search has reached no farther than simile and
            metaphor, we rather fancy than know.  --Locke.
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   2. To love. [Obs.] --Shak.
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Fancy \Fan"cy\ (f[a^]n"s[y^]), n.; pl. {Fancies}. [Contr. fr.
   fantasy, OF. fantasie, fantaisie, F. fantaisie, L. phantasia,
   fr. Gr. ???????? appearance, imagination, the power of
   perception and presentation in the mind, fr. ???????? to make
   visible, to place before one's mind, fr. ??????? to show;
   akin to ????, ???, light, Skr. bh[=a]to shine. Cf. {Fantasy},
   {Fantasia}, {Epiphany}, {Phantom}.]
   1. The faculty by which the mind forms an image or a
      representation of anything perceived before; the power of
      combining and modifying such objects into new pictures or
      images; the power of readily and happily creating and
      recalling such objects for the purpose of amusement, wit,
      or embellishment; imagination.
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            In the soul
            Are many lesser faculties, that serve
            Reason as chief. Among these fancy next
            Her office holds.                     --Milton.
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   2. An image or representation of anything formed in the mind;
      conception; thought; idea; conceit.
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            How now, my lord ! why do you keep alone,
            Of sorriest fancies your companoins making ? --Shak.
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   3. An opinion or notion formed without much reflection;
      caprice; whim; impression.
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            I have always had a fancy that learning might be
            made a play and recreation to children. --Locke.
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   4. Inclination; liking, formed by caprice rather than reason;
      as, to strike one's fancy; hence, the object of
      inclination or liking.
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            To fit your fancies to your father's will. --Shak.
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   5. That which pleases or entertains the taste or caprice
      without much use or value.
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            London pride is a pretty fancy for borders.
                                                  --Mortimer.
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   6. A sort of love song or light impromptu ballad. [Obs.]
      --Shak.
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   {The fancy}, all of a class who exhibit and cultivate any
      peculiar taste or fancy; hence, especially, sporting
      characters taken collectively, or any specific class of
      them, as jockeys, gamblers, prize fighters, etc.
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            At a great book sale in London, which had
            congregated all the fancy.            --De Quincey.

   Syn: Imagination; conceit; taste; humor; inclination; whim;
        liking. See {Imagination}.
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Fancy \Fan"cy\, v. t.
   1. To form a conception of; to portray in the mind; to
      imagine.
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            He whom I fancy, but can ne'er express. --Dryden.
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   2. To have a fancy for; to like; to be pleased with,
      particularly on account of external appearance or manners.
      "We fancy not the cardinal." --Shak.
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   3. To believe without sufficient evidence; to imagine
      (something which is unreal).
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            He fancied he was welcome, because those arounde him
            were his kinsmen.                     --Thackeray.
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Fancy \Fan"cy\, a.
   1. Adapted to please the fancy or taste, especially when of
      high quality or unusually appealing; ornamental; as, fancy
      goods; fancy clothes.
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   2. Extravagant; above real value.
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            This anxiety never degenerated into a monomania,
            like that which led his [Frederick the Great's]
            father to pay fancy prices for giants. --Macaulay.
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   {Fancy ball}, a ball in which porsons appear in fanciful
      dresses in imitation of the costumes of different persons
      and nations.

   {Fancy fair}, a fair at which articles of fancy and ornament
      are sold, generally for some charitable purpose.

   {Fancy goods}, fabrics of various colors, patterns, etc., as
      ribbons, silks, laces, etc., in distinction from those of
      a simple or plain color or make.

   {Fancy line} (Naut.), a line rove through a block at the jaws
      of a gaff; -- used to haul it down.

   {Fancy roller} (Carding Machine), a clothed cylinder (usually
      having straight teeth) in front of the doffer.

   {Fancy stocks}, a species of stocks which afford great
      opportunity for stock gambling, since they have no
      intrinsic value, and the fluctuations in their prices are
      artificial.

   {Fancy store}, one where articles of fancy and ornament are
      sold.

   {Fancy woods}, the more rare and expensive furniture woods,
      as mahogany, satinwood, rosewood, etc.
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574 Moby Thesaurus words for "fancy":
      Amor, Babylonian, Byzantine, Christian love, Corinthian, Daedalian,
      Eros, Platonic love, a bit much, abandoned, account as, adept,
      admiration, adoration, adorned, adroit, affection, affinity, agape,
      aim at, ambitious, animus, apparition, appetence, appetency,
      appetite, apprehension, approve, apt, arabesque, ardency, ardor,
      artistic, assume, attachment, attraction, authoritative,
      automatic response, awe-inspiring, awful, bag, barbaric, baroque,
      be afraid, be desirous of, be fond of, be partial to, bee,
      befrilled, believe, bent, bias, blind impulse, bodily love,
      boundless, boutade, brain wave, brainchild, brainstorm, bravura,
      brilliant, brotherly love, bubble, burn with love, busy, capriccio,
      caprice, capricious, care for, caritas, charity, chichi, chimera,
      choice, choose, chosen kind, classy, clean, clever, coin, colored,
      command, complex, complicated, conation, conatus, conceit,
      conceive, concept, conception, conceptualize, conclude, concoct,
      concupiscence, conjecture, conjugal love, conjure up, consider,
      contrariness, coordinated, costly, crack, crackerjack, crank,
      crave, craving, craze, crazy idea, create, creation, creativeness,
      creativity, crotchet, cunning, cup of tea, curiosity, cute,
      cutthroat, daedal, daresay, daydream, dear, dear-bought, decision,
      decorated, decorative, deem, deft, delirium, delusion, delusive,
      deluxe, desiderate, desideration, desire, determination, devotion,
      dexterous, dextrous, diplomatic, discretion, disposition, divine,
      dote on, dote upon, dream, dream up, drive, druthers, eagerness,
      egregious, eidolon, elaborate, elegant, embellished, embroidered,
      endorse, enormous, envisage, envisagement, envision, envisioning,
      esteem, estimate, exacting, exaggerated, excellent, excessive,
      exorbitant, expect, expensive, experience imaginatively, expert,
      extortionate, extravagant, extreme, fable, fabricate, fabrication,
      fabulous, fad, faithful love, fanciful, fantasize, fantasque,
      fantastic, fantastic notion, fantasticism, fantasy, fascination,
      favor, feel, fervor, festooned, fiction, fictionalize, figment,
      figurative, figured, fine, flamboyant, flame, flash,
      fleeting impulse, flight of fancy, flimflam, florid, flossy,
      flowery, fondness, fool notion, freak, freakish inspiration,
      free choice, free love, free will, free-lovism, frilly,
      fumes of fancy, fussy, gather, gigantic, gingerbread, glorious,
      gluttonous, go for, good, goodish, gouging, graceful, grand,
      grandiose, grant, grossly overpriced, guess, gut response,
      hallucination, handy, hankering, harebrained idea, hatch,
      have a hunch, have an idea, have an impression, have an inkling,
      have designs on, have eyes for, have it bad, have the idea, heart,
      hero worship, high, high-class, high-flown, high-flying,
      high-priced, high-toned, high-wrought, highfalutin, highfaluting,
      hold, hold as, hope, horme, humor, hunger for, hyperbolic,
      hypertrophied, idea, ideate, idle fancy, idolatry, idolism,
      idolization, illusion, illusory, image, imagery, imagination,
      imaginativeness, imagine, imagining, imago, immoderate, imposing,
      impression, impressive, impulse, inclination, incontinent, infer,
      inflated, inflationary, ingenious, inordinate, inspiration,
      instinct, insubstantial image, intellectual curiosity,
      intellectual object, intemperate, intention, intricate, invent,
      invention, inventiveness, involuntary impulse, irrationality,
      judge, kink, labored, lasciviousness, leaning, let, let be, libido,
      like, liking, lofty, long for, longing, look upon as, love,
      lovemaking, lush, lust, lust after, lust for learning, luxuriant,
      luxurious, luxury, maggot, magisterial, magnificent, maintain,
      majestic, make up, make-believe, married love, masterful, masterly,
      megrim, memory-trace, mental image, mental impression, mind,
      mirage, mold, monstrous, moresque, mutual affinity,
      mutual attraction, myth, natural impulse, neat, need, nightmare,
      no mean, noble, not affordable, notion, objectification, objective,
      observation, of great cost, opine, opinion, originate, ornamental,
      ornamented, ornate, ostentatious, out of bounds, out of sight,
      outrageous, overbig, overcharged, overdeveloped, overelaborate,
      overelegant, overgreat, overgrown, overlabored, overlarge,
      overloaded, overmuch, overpriced, overweening, overworked,
      overwrought, palatial, partiality, particular choice,
      passing fancy, passion, peculiarity, penchant, perception,
      personal choice, perverseness, phantasm, phantom, physical love,
      picture, picturesque, pine for, pleasure, pleasure principle,
      plush, politic, popular regard, popularity, posh, predilection,
      predisposition, prefer, preference, prefigure, prejudice, premium,
      prepossession, preposterous, presume, presuppose, presurmise,
      pretentious, pretty-pretty, pricey, prime, princely, proclivity,
      produce, professional, proficient, prohibitive, propensity, proud,
      provisionally accept, purple, quality, quick, quick hunch, quirk,
      quite some, ready, recept, reckon, reflection, reflex, regard,
      representation, repute, resolution, resourceful, rich, ritzy,
      rococo, romance, sanction, say, select, sentiment, set down as,
      sex, sexual desire, sexual love, shape, shine, sick fancy,
      skillful, skyrocketing, slick, some, special, spiraling,
      spiritual love, splendacious, splendid, splendiferous, stately,
      statesmanlike, steep, stiff, style, stylish, sudden thought,
      sumptuous, superb, superfancy, superfine, superior, suppose,
      supposition, surmise, suspect, swank, swanky, swell, sympathy,
      tactful, take, take for, take for granted, take it, take to,
      take to be, taste, tendency, tender feeling, tender passion,
      the compleat, the complete, theory, thick-coming fancies, thing,
      think, think up, thirst for knowledge, thought, tony, too much,
      top, toy, trip, trow, truelove, turn, type, unbridled,
      unconscionable, understand, undue, unpayable, unrealistic,
      unreality, unreasonable, unreasonableness, unrestrained,
      unwarranted, urge, usurious, uxoriousness, vagary, vapor, vaunting,
      velleity, view as, virtuoso, vision, visionary, visualize,
      volition, want, wanting, weakness, ween, well-done, whim,
      whim-wham, whimsical, whimsy, wildest dreams, will,
      will and pleasure, will power, wish, wish for, wish fulfillment,
      wish to goodness, wish very much, workmanlike, worship,
      would fain do, yearning