as in trance
the state of being lost in thought
if you're bored while traveling, daydreaming is a perfectly normal state to be in, regardless of what the road signs say
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in dreaming
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Recent Examples of daydreaming
Paige Moore, AZCentral.com, 7 Oct. 2025
Those daydreaming of taking in the sweeping sunrise vistas across Middle Harbour just got lucky because one of the most significant abodes on the street just surfaced on market for the first time in over four decades.
—Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 27 Aug. 2025
This is a train ride for daydreaming, drawing, reading, playing cards, or any other low-tech pursuit.
—Alesandra Dubin, AFAR Media, 25 Aug. 2025
Maladaptive daydreaming is a form of intense daydreaming characterized by the creation of unrealistic or fantastical situations, conversations, or stories in one’s own mind that are outside the realm of a person’s day-to-day life.
—Angelica Bottaro, Verywell Health, 7 Aug. 2025
Verb
The colorful flowers are perfect for a photo-op or casual daydreaming.
—Paige Moore, AZCentral.com, 7 Oct. 2025
Those daydreaming of taking in the sweeping sunrise vistas across Middle Harbour just got lucky because one of the most significant abodes on the street just surfaced on market for the first time in over four decades.
—Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 27 Aug. 2025
This is a train ride for daydreaming, drawing, reading, playing cards, or any other low-tech pursuit.
—Alesandra Dubin, AFAR Media, 25 Aug. 2025
Maladaptive daydreaming is a form of intense daydreaming characterized by the creation of unrealistic or fantastical situations, conversations, or stories in one’s own mind that are outside the realm of a person’s day-to-day life.
—Angelica Bottaro, Verywell Health, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for daydreaming
Noun
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Chamomile softens the flame, vanilla sweetens the smoke, and the result is all loving, never strange… a total trance.—
Adam Hurly,
Robb Report,
16 Oct. 2025
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My deep tissue massage using warm basalt stones and a local scrub made with salt from the nearby ponds left me in a dreamlike trance.—
Angela Caraway-Carlton,
Miami Herald,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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That means Southerners dreaming of a vacation at sea no longer need to tack on a trip to Florida or New Orleans to set sail.—
Melissa Locker,
Southern Living,
23 Oct. 2025
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All of this left many of them dreaming of being a stay-at-home wife supported and protected by a rich and masculine man.—
Julia Ioffe,
New Yorker,
19 Oct. 2025
Noun
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These are Logan Paulsen and his wife Kelly’s rescue dogs, all different ages and sizes, all at the door of their comfortable northern Virginia home to greet his students for another day of film study and training.—
Jourdan Rodrigue,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
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Although further studies – such as carbon dating – are needed to determine its exact age, the team estimated the crater’s formation period by analyzing its geological structure and the extent of erosion.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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If one villa on Ibiza sounds dreamy, try two.—
Abby Montanez,
Robb Report,
23 Oct. 2025
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Stops include such dreamy destinations as Cozumel, Bimini, Grand Cayman, and Montego Bay, and Carnival's own ports of call Half Moon Cay and Celebration Key.—
Melissa Locker,
Southern Living,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Graham Johnson, a computational biologist and scientific illustrator at the Allen Institute for Cell Science, recalls fantasizing at a lunch table, more than 15 years ago, about a computer model of a cell so detailed, so complete, that scientists could watch such processes happening.—
Veronique Greenwood,
Time,
14 Oct. 2025
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Luis hangs a poster of his favorite movie star, Ingrid, and spends his time fantasizing about Ingrid as Aurora.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
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In pieces on patriotism as a kind of madness, on the long history of Polish and Russian colonizations and cultural appropriations of Ukraine, on the ways communities fantasize and share their daydreams, and others, Janion creates wormholes between past and present.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Oct. 2025
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Weston Cloud Modular Sectional Sofa Sinking into cloud-like comfort is no longer a far-off daydream: The Weston Cloud Sofa's plush cushions provide a lavish experience ideal for relaxing after a long day.—
Elizabeth Fogarty,
Better Homes & Gardens,
17 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The post included a series of pictures of D’Angelo in the studio, as well as a snap of the two musicians in which D is giving one of his classic pensive, knowing looks and Hill is smiling as the pair lean their heads together.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
15 Oct. 2025
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Stephen depicts the women’s schooltime bond in hypnotic flashbacks, and their separation largely through absence itself, with gliding, pensive shots of places—rooms, buildings, streets—where the women have been and may be again but which, onscreen, are vacant.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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And some of these AI companies are projecting the idea even further, envisioning a future where AI agents use their coding abilities spin up bespoke software on the fly to handle many of the tasks that now require enterprise software, like, um, Salesforce.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
21 Oct. 2025
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Still others were envisioning future scenarios where a president illegally seizes power in a coup.—
Ryan Kennedy,
The Conversation,
13 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Daydreaming.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/daydreaming. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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