Sekirov Dictionary

fancy

/ˈfæn.si/

adjective 5
noun 15
verb 7
adverb 1
forms 6
phrases 5

adjective5

•
full of pretty details, shapes or colors added to make it look nicer
- This is a fancy shawl.
•
(informal) Unnecessarily complicated.
- I'm not keen on him and his fancy ideas.
•
Executed with skill.
- He initiated the game-winning play with a fancy deked saucer pass to the winger.
- It took some fancy footwork to make it happen.
•
Of a superior grade.
- This box contains bottles of the fancy grade of jelly.
•
Extravagant; above real value.
- This anxiety never degenerated into a monomania, like that which led his [Frederick the Great's] father to pay fancy prices for giants. — 1859

noun15

•
The imagination.
- […] But know that in the soul / Are many lesser faculties, that serve / Reason as chief; among these Fancy next / Her office holds […] — 1667
•
Love or amorous attachment.
- And they’ve taken a fancy to me, Aunt said. Kitto and the others. That means they like me. — 1967
•
Liking.
- He took a fancy to the goods in the window.
•
A whim.
- I had a fancy to learn to play the flute.
•
An image or representation of anything formed in the mind.
- How now, my lord! why do you keep alone, / Of sorriest fancies your companions making, / Using those thoughts which should indeed have died / With them they think on? — 1606
•
An opinion or notion formed without much reflection.
- I have always had a Fancy, that Learning might be made a Play and Recreation to Children […] — 1693
•
Any sport or hobby pursued by a group.
- Trainspotting is the fancy of a special lot.
•
The enthusiasts of such a pursuit.
- He fell out of favor with the boxing fancy after the incident.
•
A bite-sized sponge cake, with a layer of cream, covered in icing.
- a French fancy; a fondant fancy; cream fancies
•
The object of inclination or liking.
- For you, fair Hermia, look you arm yourself / To fit your fancies to your father’s will — 1595
•
That which pleases or entertains the taste or caprice without much use or value.
- 18th century, John Mortimer, The Whole Art of Husbandry; or, The Way of Managing and Improving Land, cited in Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of the English Language, 1755, London-pride is a pretty fancy, and does well for borders.
A diamond with a distinctive colour.
•
In the game of jacks, a style of play involving additional actions (contrasted with plainsies).
- When you get good at jacks, try adding a fancy. A fancy is an extra round at the end of a game. It makes the game a little harder. Jack Be Nimble, Around the World, or Black Widow are some fancies. — 2002
•
(no longer used) A sort of love song or light impromptu ballad.
- [He] sung those tunes to the ouer-schutcht huswiues, that he heard the Car-men whistle, and sware they were his fancies or his good-nights, […] — 1596
[in compounds] (slang, no longer used) A colored neckerchief worn at prizefights to show support for a contender.

verb7

•
To appreciate without jealousy or greed.
- I fancy your new car, but I like my old one just fine.
•
(UK) Would like; have a desire for.
- I fancy a burger tonight for dinner.
- Do you fancy going to town this weekend?
•
(UK, informal) To be sexually, aesthetically or romantically attracted to.
- I fancy that girl over there.
•
To have a fancy for; to like; to be pleased with, particularly on account of external appearance or manners.
- We fancy not the cardinal. — 1591
•
(old-fashioned) To imagine, suppose.
- [dated] I fancy you'll want something to drink after your long journey.
- I fancy this is an error.
•
To form a conception of; to portray in the mind.
- he whom I fancy, but can ne'er express — 1693
•
To breed (animals) as a hobby.
- I would recommend this little book very highly to anyone who fancies pigeons, novices and veterans alike. — 1973

adverb1

•
(nonstandard) In a fancy manner; fancily.
- I igonored it, hurdling her navel, riding her torso and taking both her breasts in my hands and mashing them none too fancy. — 1970

forms

fancied · fancying · fancies · fancieth · fancier · fanciest

Phrases with fancy

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