high fantasy

/ˈhaɪ ˈfæntəsi/

high fantasy noun: a subgenre of fantasy fiction set in a secondary world or fantasy world as opposed to the primary world or real world.

Noun

high fantasy (countable and uncountable, plural high fantasies)

(uncountable) A subgenre of fantasy fiction set in a secondary world or fantasy world as opposed to the primary world or real world.
- Fantasy fiction has been categorized and described in different ways. One classification divides fantasy into two major types:¶ low fantasy, which takes place in the primary world (our world);¶ high fantasy, which takes place in alternative worlds.2008, Nikki Gamble, Sally Yates, “Fantasy and Realism”, in Exploring Children's Literature, →ISBN, page 120
- A term used by Lloyd Alexander in a 1971 essay on “High Fantasy and Heroic Romance" and subsequently developed by Kenneth J. Zahorski and Robert H. Boyer in an attempt to develop a terminology with which to deal with genre materials. In Zahorski and Boyer's taxonomy, high fantasy consists entirely...2009, Brian Stableford, “HIGH FANTASY”, in The A to Z of Fantasy Literature, →ISBN, page 198
(uncountable) A subgenre of fantasy fiction that focuses on universal events, instead of just those directly associated with the main characters.
- High fantasy is a complex, philosophical form of literature that focuses on themes such as the conflict between good and evil.1997, Barbara Stoodt, “Make-Believe”, in Children's Literature, →ISBN, page 195
(countable) A work in this subgenre.

high fantasy (comparative more high fantasy, superlative most high fantasy)

Having a rich fantasy life; including having imaginary companions and playing pretend games.
- Some children are much more inclined than others to engage in fantastical pursuits, such as pretending or having an imaginary companion (Taylor, 1999). Such a high fantasy orientation (FO) could have great potential relevance to children’s beliefs in fantastical figures.2004 June, Tanya Sharon, Jacqueline D. Woolley, “Do monsters dream? Young children’s understanding of the fantasy/reality distinction”, in British Journal of Developmental Psychology, volume 22...
- Jerome Singer (1973) divided a group of children aged six to nine years into high-fantasy and low-fantasy groups on the basis of their frequency of playing pretend games as contrasted with other kinds of play2014, Candida Clifford Peterson, “Preschoolers”, in Looking Forward Through the Lifespan, →ISBN, page 237

A term used by Lloyd Alexander in a 1971 essay on “High Fantasy and Heroic Romance" and subsequently developed by Kenneth J.2009, Brian Stableford, “HIGH FANTASY”, in The A to Z of Fantasy Literature, →ISBN, page 198:
High fantasy of the George RR Martin kind hinges on world-building.2015 May 20, Natasha Pulley, “Fantasy cannot build its imaginary worlds in short fiction”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

What does high fantasy mean?: High fantasy means a subgenre of fantasy fiction set in a secondary world or fantasy world as opposed to the primary world or real world.
How do you use high fantasy in a sentence?: A term used by Lloyd Alexander in a 1971 essay on “High Fantasy and Heroic Romance" and subsequently developed by Kenneth J.
What part of speech is high fantasy?: High fantasy can be a noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce high fantasy?: High fantasy is pronounced /ˈhaɪ ˈfæntəsi/.
What is the plural of high fantasy?: The plural of high fantasy is high fantasies.

Adapted from Wiktionary: high fantasy (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-high fantasy.wav.

Cite this entry: “high fantasy.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/high_fantasy. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.