Dictionary

fantastically en · ADV

Pronunciation

• (Mid-Atlantic, US) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-né- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *bʰh₂nyéti Proto-Hellenic *pʰáňňō Ancient Greek φαίνω (phaínō) Ancient Greek φαντάζω (phantázō) Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Hellenic *-tis Ancient Greek -τῐς (-tĭs) Ancient Greek -σῐς (-sĭs) Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Hellenic *-kos Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) ? Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Hellenic *-tós Ancient Greek -τος (-tos) ▲ Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) ? Ancient Greek -τικός (-tikós) Ancient Greek φανταστικός (phantastikós)bor. Late Latin phantasticusbor. Middle French fantastiquebor. English fantastic Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālisbor. Old French -albor. ▲ Latin -ālis Old French -elbor. ▲ Latin -ālisbor. Middle English -al Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der. Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-Germanic *-ê Proto-Germanic *-līkê Proto-West Germanic *-līkē Old English -līċe Middle English -ly Middle English -ally English -ally English fantastically From fantastic + -ally.

Meanings

1. In a fantastic manner.
   • He painted fantastically with everything as if in a dream.
   • "The Chengtu revolutionaries were fantastically colourful in the Szechwanese manner—they costumed themselves as heroes of the stage and their energies were chiefly occupied in tying ropes across the main streets so that when Imperial officials rode by in their litters they would have to get down and crawl under, losing face. 1942 March 14, “Notes and News: Monument to a Stillborn Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 88:
2. To an extent only in fantasy; outrageously; ridiculously.
   • One must be especially careful when using Google to determine frequency as there is a very real risk of fantastically overestimating the frequency and subsequent importance of a term. 2018, James Lambert, “A multitude of ‘lishes’: The nomenclature of hybridity”, in English World-Wide, page 15:
   • He was fantastically wealthy.
   • The provinces of Liaoning, Heilongjiang and Jilin are fantastically cold in winter, indeed one of the major tourist attractions for the hardy is the display of ice-carved figures in public parks (especially in Haerbin, Heilongjiang province). The long winters have average temperatures between — 20°C and — 27°C, although the short summers are hot. 1988, Frances Wood, “Town and Countryside”, in A Companion to China, 1st U.S. edition, New York: St. Martin's Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 35:
   • Every guest is appalled and fantastically humourless about the experience, even at this distance. You cannot help but wonder at cultural divides and how differently the British might have approached – or at least recalled – such events, at least in the early days. For us, surely, it would be a story for the ages. You could dine out on it for ever, so to speak. 2025 June 24, Lucy Mangan, “Poop Cruise review – a fascinating look at a toilet disaster that still haunts passengers 12 years later”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 23 Jul 2025:

Forms

Translations (28)

pt fantasticamente (in a fantastic manner) · cmn 難以置信地 /难以置信地 (in a fantastic manner) · hy հեքիաթային (to a fantastic extent) · pt fantasticamente (to a fantastic extent) · hy ֆանտաստիկորեն (in a fantastic manner) · da fantastisk (in a fantastic manner) · de phantastisch (in a fantastic manner) · cmn 不可思議地 /不可思议地 (to a fantastic extent) · de phantastisch (to a fantastic extent) · vi tuyệt vời (to a fantastic extent) · ca fantàsticament (in a fantastic manner) · fr fantastiquement (to a fantastic extent) · vi tuyệt vời (in a fantastic manner) · fi mielikuvituksellisen (to a fantastic extent) · fr fantastiquement (in a fantastic manner) · ru фантасти́чески (to a fantastic extent) · es fantásticamente (to a fantastic extent) · el φανταστικά (in a fantastic manner) · es fantásticamente (in a fantastic manner) · da fantastisk (to a fantastic extent) · cmn 奇特地 (in a fantastic manner) · it fantasticamente (to a fantastic extent) · nl fantastisch (in a fantastic manner) · hy ֆանտաստիկորեն (to a fantastic extent) · ru фантасти́чески (in a fantastic manner) · it fantasticamente (in a fantastic manner) · nl fantastisch (to a fantastic extent) · fi mielikuvituksellisesti (in a fantastic manner)