What does fantastically mean?
"Fantastically" is an English adverb with two related senses. Its dominant modern use is as an intensifier meaning "to an extraordinary degree," typically modifying adjectives or adverbs: something can be fantastically expensive, fantastically successful, or fantastically difficult. In this role it conveys enthusiasm and magnitude, and it appears frequently in journalism, advertising, and everyday speech, where it carries a warmer, more expressive tone than neutral intensifiers like "very." The word's second, older sense means "in a manner characteristic of fantasy" — describing something imagined, bizarre, or dreamlike, as in fantastically shaped rock formations. Both senses descend from "fantastic," which derives via Latin and Greek roots connected to appearance and imagination — ultimately from the Greek "phantazein," to make visible. Because its emotional coloring shifts with context, "fantastically" rewards careful use: it can signal genuine delight, overwhelming scale, or sheer strangeness depending on what it modifies.
adverbTo a degree that is extraordinarily large, good, or unusual; in a manner relating to fantasy or the imaginative.
- To a very great or extreme degree (often intensifying an adjective)
- In a way suggestive of fantasy; unimaginably or bizarrely
"The garden was fantastically overgrown, with vines swallowing the entire fence."
"She was fantastically generous, donating millions without ever seeking credit."
"The film's creatures were fantastically conceived, seeming born of a dream."
Its root traces back to Greek 'phantazein' — to make visible — so every time you say 'fantastically', you're literally invoking something made visible to the imagination.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of fantastically
"Fantastically" derives from "fantastic," which entered English in the medieval period from French, ultimately tracing to Latin "phantasticus" and Greek "phantastikos," from "phantazein" (to make visible or appear). Originally, "fantastic" described things existing only in imagination; by the seventeenth century it had also come to mean "extraordinarily great," giving rise to the adverb's intensifying sense alongside its original fantastical one.
Related word forms
How fantastically is actually used
Predominantly used as an intensifier in informal and journalistic contexts. When modifying evaluative adjectives ('fantastically good'), it carries strong positive connotation; with neutral descriptors ('fantastically complex'), it signals sheer magnitude.
Easily confused with fantastically
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