Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
far-fetched

far-fetched

38 6.0
Unlikely to be true because it seems unreal and extreme
  • adjective
  • /fɑrˈfɛtʃt/
: inverosímil
  • The story about the man who claims to have seen a flying elephant is so far-fetched that nobody believes him.
  • seem far-fetched
  • too far-fetched
  • far-fetched to imagine

It was too far fetched to even believe you know?

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • It's far-fetched, but it's not impossible.

    Gattaca (1997)

  • Today the majority of us view the concept of demonic possession to be a little far-fetched.

    Birds in the Spring (1933)

  • Now this sounds very far fetched at first, but consider what plants do.

    Kyle Hill

  • The strategy is not as far-fetched as it might seem.

    Academic text (2005)

  • I mean, it's pretty far-fetched.

    The Night Before the Night Before Christmas (2010)

  • Yes, it was rather far-fetched.

    Compulsion (1959)

  • Although useful, it would be far-fetched to bank on this as the basis for recovery.

    Academic text (1994)

  • Even for me, as progressive and curious and in it as I am, I understand how far fetched that may feel.

  • Such a comparison is far-fetched and would not pass the test of objectivity.

    Academic text (1995)

  • The premise is so far-fetched it's absurd.

    The Pelican Brief (1993)

Synonyms

unbelievable
vsfar-fetched
492 4.9

Very surprising and almost impossible to accept as true

is strong but less extreme and more simply unlikely or exaggerated
absurd
vsfar-fetched
284 4.4

So silly or unreasonable that it makes no sense

is more about being unlikely than being logically wrong or ridiculous
unimaginable
vsfar-fetched
66 5.4

So strange or large that people cannot believe it

is about being unlikely but not necessarily beyond mental imagining
preposterous
vsfar-fetched
65 7.3

Very silly and unreasonable so it seems laughable

focuses on being unlikely rather than being laughably absurd
outlandish
vsfar-fetched
32 7.4

Strange or unusual in a way that surprises people

is about unusual appearance rather than being hard to believe
implausible
vsfar-fetched
25 7.0

Not likely to be true or hard to believe

is usually more exaggerated or unreal rather than just unlikely
farfetched
vsfar-fetched
13 7.5

Not likely to be true or believable

is written with a hyphen while the other form drops it
fanciful
vsfar-fetched
12 6.0

Imaginative but not true or practical

is more about being unlikely than being creative or imaginative
short-fetched
vsfar-fetched
  • Archaic
8.9

Hard to believe because it lacks good proof

is closer to being exaggerated or unrealistic than merely unlikely

Antonyms

believable
98 3.7

Easy to accept as true

realistic
84 4.1

Showing things as they are in real life

How Implausible

absurd
284 4.4
far-fetched
38 6.0
implausible
25 7.0
unlikely
486 1.9
believable
98 3.7

Surface Forms

far-fetched positive

Morphology

far-fetched = far + fetched (semi-transparent) = far + fetch + ed

The components 'far' and 'fetched' are literal and understandable, but the figurative meaning 'unlikely' is a metaphorical extension not strictly predictable from the components.

Etymology

The word far-fetched comes from the parts far 'a long distance' and fetch 'to bring'. Imagine an idea 'brought from far away' — it feels hard to believe, so far-fetched means not likely or too strange to be true.