fantastical

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fan·tas·tic

(făn-tăs′tĭk) also fan·tas·ti·cal (-tĭ-kəl)

adj.

a. Based on or existing only in fantasy; unreal: fantastic mythological creatures; the fantastic realms of science fiction.

b. Strange or fanciful in form, conception, or appearance: "The fire assumed fantastic shapes as he watched" (Ward Just).

a. Unrealistic; irrational: "the early jubilant years of the Restoration with their fantastic hopes of a Golden Age and incorruptible power" (Janet Todd).

b. Exceedingly great in size or degree; extravagant: a fantastic sum of money.

3. Wonderful or superb; remarkable: a fantastic trip to Europe.

[Middle English fantastik, imagined, from Old French fantastique, from Late Latin phantasticus, imaginary, from Greek phantastikos, able to create mental images, from phantazesthai, to appear; see fantasy.]

fan·tas′ti·cal′i·ty (-tĭ-kăl′ĭ-tē) n.

fan·tas′ti·cal·ly adv.

Synonyms: fantastic, bizarre, grotesque, fanciful, exotic
These adjectives apply to what is very strange or strikingly unusual. Fantastic describes what seems to have slight relation to the real world because of its strangeness or extravagance: fantastic imaginary beasts such as the unicorn. Bizarre stresses oddness that is heightened by striking contrasts and incongruities and that shocks or fascinates: "a bizarre array of bellbottoms, floral shirts, shoes with brass buckles, white belts, orange hot pants, and miniskirts" (James S. Hirsch).
Grotesque refers principally to deformity and distortion, often of a ludicrous or repulsive nature: statues of grotesque, misshapen creatures. Fanciful applies to what is strongly influenced by imagination, caprice, or whimsy: "folksingers telling old tales in fanciful masks, wigs and costumes" (Anchee Min).
Something exotic is unusual and intriguing: painted landscapes in exotic colors.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adj.	1.	fantastical - existing in fancy only; "fantastic figures with bulbous heads the circumference of a bushel"- Nathaniel Hawthorne unreal - lacking in reality or substance or genuineness; not corresponding to acknowledged facts or criteria; "ghosts and other unreal entities"; "unreal propaganda serving as news"
	2.	fantastical - ludicrously odd; "Hamlet's assumed antic disposition"; "fantastic Halloween costumes"; "a grotesque reflection in the mirror" strange, unusual - being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird; "a strange exaltation that was indefinable"; "a strange fantastical mind"; "what a strange sense of humor she has"

fantastical

adjective

2. Existing only in the imagination:

3. Following no predictable pattern:

capricious, changeable, erratic, fantastic, fickle, freakish, inconsistent, inconstant, mercurial, temperamental, ticklish, uncertain, unpredictable, unstable, unsteady, variable, volatile, whimsical.

4. So remarkable as to elicit disbelief:

amazing, astonishing, astounding, fabulous, fantastic, incredible, marvelous, miraculous, phenomenal, prodigious, stupendous, unbelievable, wonderful, wondrous.

5. Conceived or done with no reference to reality or common sense:

6. Consisting or suggestive of fiction:

7. Particularly excellent:

Translations

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

fantastical

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007