What does fantasise mean?
To fantasise is to indulge in vivid mental imaginings — typically about things one desires but does not have, or events unlikely ever to occur. A person might fantasise about winning the lottery, meeting a celebrity, or abandoning their career for a life abroad; the word covers everything from fleeting daydreams to elaborate, recurring inner scenarios. It is almost always used with 'about', as in 'she fantasises about travelling the world'. The verb is neutral in tone, though it can carry a subtle hint of escapism or impracticality when applied to plans others consider unrealistic. 'Fantasise' is the standard British spelling, while American English favours 'fantasize'; both derive ultimately from the Greek 'phantazein', meaning to make visible, via Latin and Old French routes into English. Closely related forms include 'fantasy' and 'fantastic'. Whether describing harmless daydreaming or a habit of losing oneself in impossible scenarios, 'fantasise' captures one of the most distinctly human capacities: living, for a while, inside the imagination.
verbTo imagine or daydream about something pleasing to oneself that is unlikely to happen or that one does not possess; also, to conceive fanciful or unrealistic ideas.
- To imagine something one would like to happen or possess, especially as an escape from everyday life; to daydream about it.
- (Less commonly) to create or entertain fanciful, imaginative, or unreal ideas more generally.
"She would often fantasise about quitting her job and opening a bookshop by the sea."
"He spent the long commute fantasising about a cottage in the Scottish Highlands."
"The novel fantasises a London where gravity works only on Tuesdays."
Every time you say 'fantasy', you're echoing the Greek 'phantazein' — to make visible — because ancient Greeks thought imagination literally made images appear before the mind's eye.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of fantasise
The verb traces back to the Greek 'phantazein', meaning 'to make visible' or 'to bring before the mind', from 'phainein', 'to show'. Greek 'phantasia' passed into Latin as 'phantasia' and then into Old French as 'fantasie', entering Middle English in the fourteenth century. The verb 'fantasise' formed later from the noun 'fantasy' using the verbal '-ise' suffix common in verbs of Greek and Latin origin. American English standardised the '-ize' ending, reflecting the Greek '-izein' suffix, while British convention settled on '-ise'.
Related word forms
How fantasise is actually used
'Fantasise' is chiefly British; American usage prefers 'fantasize'. The verb is usually followed by 'about' plus a noun or gerund ('fantasise about winning'). It often carries a mild connotation of unreality or impracticality, so describing someone as fantasising can gently suggest they are out of touch with facts. Register is neutral, comfortable in both everyday speech and literary prose.
Easily confused with fantasise
'Fantasise' is simply the British English spelling of the same verb, which American English writes 'fantasize' — the meanings are identical.
Despite sharing a root, 'fantastic' is an adjective meaning extraordinary or excellent, whereas 'fantasise' is the act of indulging in imagined scenarios.