as in dreams
a conception or image created by the imagination and having no objective reality
opening our own restaurant has long been a pipe dream
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Recent Examples of pipe dreams
Music promoters, both craving the one-upmanship and genuine satisfaction of getting a lucrative band back on a stage, have more money at their disposal than ever before to make their pipe dreams a reality.
—
Devon Ivie,
Vulture,
13 Nov. 2025
The stalker pipe dreams need to stop here.
—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
The idea that renewables alone can power the American economy is nonsense given the current technology, green pipe dreams notwithstanding.
—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
8 Sep. 2025
Devon Ivie,
Vulture,
13 Nov. 2025
The stalker pipe dreams need to stop here.
—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
The idea that renewables alone can power the American economy is nonsense given the current technology, green pipe dreams notwithstanding.
—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pipe dreams
Noun
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Big dreams may crash down to earth when daily reality gets involved.
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Daeron Targaryen Daeron Targaryen, otherwise known as Daeron the Drunkard, is a bookish and melancholy Targaryen prince known for his prophetic dreams.
Noun
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McKay and her visions are the inspiration behind Sarris’ latest work.
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Ideas need crisp notes as the temperamental Moon in your 9th House opposes imaginative Neptune in your 3rd House, bringing visions and messages together.
Noun
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Perhaps because of this aesthetic of illusions, the earnest state pride evident in some of the pavilions turns out to feel especially delightful.
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Common illusions at sea include ships appearing as spinning in circles or sailing on land, posing dangers to commercial maritime vessels trying to navigate.
Noun
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Circe and Calypso, for instance, are fantasies of pleasure and captivity, projections of men’s fear of losing control; Odysseus’ abandonment of them is part of his return to command.
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Iraq was losing the war that would create the state of Israel, a humiliation that challenged fantasies of Arab unity and conquest.
Noun
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And amidst the momentum of reverie, there’s the line ‘Blink at the light and hope to survive,’ because daydreams in a fascist state can be scary too.
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One-touch passing, feinting and ripping hard shots into a tattered net, each is super-charged by vivid daydreams of glory on the international stage.
Cite this Entry
“Pipe dreams.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pipe%20dreams. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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