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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Sadly, his college ball dreams didn’t come to fruition after the coach who called him up retired.—
Marina Watts,
PEOPLE,
13 Jan. 2026
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But your kid with pro athlete dreams is likely not part of the 70%.—
Jonathan Carone,
Parents,
13 Jan. 2026
Noun
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In addition to having to be secretive about their work, Imagineers are responsible for balancing their creative visions with the strict budget they’re given.—
Natalia Senanayake,
PEOPLE,
14 Jan. 2026
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During one of her stays in jail, she was beset by visions that led her to believe herself to be God’s representative on Earth — an epiphany that did not improve her tenuous standing with the Church of England.—
Mike Miller,
Entertainment Weekly,
14 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Inside a mesmerising hall of mirrors inspired by Houdini's illusions, massages with seasonal Hungarian essential oils and rejuvenating mud wraps release any and all tension.—
Cassie Doney,
Condé Nast Traveler,
11 Jan. 2026
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Her sister, Kali, has the power to create illusions, so the Eleven that everyone witnessed in her final moments could have been fake, and the real Eleven could have slipped away without being detected.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Although the film became a template for white revenge fantasies, its street thugs are assembled with almost comic care to avoid racial bias.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
12 Jan. 2026
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Anyone who’s survived to 2026 knows the upper class’ fictitious fantasies still carry real, wretched consequences for the rest of us, but Season 4 plays out those ongoing scenarios to the nth degree, while condensing them into an appreciable narrative arc.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
11 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Bob Weir, the singer, songwriter, guitarist, and co-founder of the Grateful Dead, whose songs about sunshine daydreams and truckin’ helped turn the jam band into a 60-year musical empire, has died at age 78.—
Richard Gehr,
Rolling Stone,
10 Jan. 2026
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Alas, my daydreams about adapting an essay from my collection into a limited series TV show turned out to be just that.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pipe dreams.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pipe%20dreams. Accessed 21 Jan. 2026.
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