"At the base of the whole process by which divinities and demons were created, and rites for their propitiation and placation established, lay Fear - fear stimulating the imagination to fantastic activity."
— 1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., published 1921, page 13:
"She was a frightened fool, and she was fantastic, and I suppose that, at that time, she really cared for that imbecile."
— 1915, Ford Madox Hueffer [i.e., Ford Madox Ford], The Good Soldier […], London: John Lane, The Bodley Head; New York, N.Y.: John Lane Company, →OCLC:
"And indeed, when in the writings of Paracelſus I meet with ſuch Phantaſtick and Un-intelligible Diſcourſes as that Writer often puzzels and tyres his Reader with, father'd upon ſuch excellent Experiments, as though he ſeldom clearly teaches, I often find he knew ; me thinks the Chymiſts, in their ſearches after truth, are not unlike the Navigators of Solomons Tarſhiſh Fleet, who brought home from their long and tedious Voyages, not only Gold, and Silver, and Ivory, but Apes and Peacocks too ; For ſo the Writings of ſeveral (for I ſay not, all) of your Hermetick Philoſophers preſent us, together with divers Subſtantial and noble Experiments, Theories, which either like Peacocks feathers make a great ſhew, but are neither ſolid nor uſeful ; or elſe like Apes, if they have ſome appearance of being rational, are blemiſh'd with ſome abſurdity or other, that when they are Attentively conſider'd, makes them appear Ridiculous."
— 1661, Robert Boyle, “THE CONCLUSION”, in The Sceptical Chymist: or Chymico-Physical Doubts & Paradoxes, Touching the Spagyrist's Principles Commonly call'd Hypostatical, As they are wont to be Propos'd and Defended by the Generality of Alchymists. Whereunto is præmis'd Part of another Diſcourſe relating to the ſame Subject, London: J. Caldwell, pages 429–430:
"Since 1 part in 100,000 would imply that one could put a Shuttle up each day for 300 years expecting to lose only one, we could properly ask "What is the cause of management's fantastic faith in the machinery?""
— 1986 June 6, Richard Feynman, “Personal observations on the reliability of the Shuttle”, in Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident, Report to the President:
"There at the foot of yonder nodding beech, / That wreathes its old fantastic roots so high."
— 1750 June 12 (date written; published 1751), T[homas] Gray, “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”, in Designs by Mr. R[ichard] Bentley, for Six Poems by Mr. T. Gray, London: […] R[obert] Dodsley, […], published 1753, →OCLC: