What does fanciful mean?
Word: Fanciful
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Fanciful means based on imagination rather than fact, and unlikely to be true.
Synonyms: imaginary, far-fetched
How do you spell fanciful?
Syllables: fan - ci - ful
Tricky part: Pupils keep the y of the shorter word and write fancyful. That y changes to i before the ending.
Watch out for: fancyful, fanceful, fansiful
Memory tip: The y tucks its tail away to fit in front of the ending, and comes out as a neat i.
Fanciful in a sentence
Example 1: The painter's fanciful drawings show elephants with wings.
Example 2: It is a fanciful idea that cats can read our minds.
Example 3: Her fanciful hat, covered in paper flowers, won a prize at the fair.
Fun Fact
The shorter word this adjective is built on began life as a shortened form of fantasy.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Only one of these words takes the suffix ful to make a real word. Choose it.
ful
a) early
b) fancy
c) lazy
d) busy
Show answer
b) fancy. The y of fancy turns to i to give fanciful; the other three have no ful form.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word fanciful as used in the sentence:
Aarav's fanciful plan to build a ladder to the moon made the whole class smile.
a) lengthy
b) realistic
c) colourful
d) cheerful
Show answer
b) realistic. A realistic plan could really be carried out; this one never could.
Mingle-Mangle
The sentence contains a jumbled word. Choose the word it hides:
My little brother told a ucalniff tale about a dragon who lived in the water tank.
a) fanciful
b) tuneful
c) faithful
d) playful
Show answer
a) fanciful. Two f's and a c appear in the letters, and only fanciful has them.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
fannciful
a) f
b) l
c) n
d) c
Show answer
c) n. A single n follows the a.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which idea would most people call fanciful?
a) a shelf for the new books
b) a gate at the end of the lane
c) a bridge built out of clouds
d) a bus stop beside the school
Show answer
c) a bridge built out of clouds
2. On which library shelf is an author's fanciful story most likely to sit?
a) fairy tales and make-believe
b) maths and science revision
c) cookery and home crafts
d) world atlases and maps
Show answer
a) fairy tales and make-believe
