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
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
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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But as his son’s college dreams were coming into focus, Dominique thought about his own path and upbringing.—
Mirin Fader,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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Most cops have hero dreams, protector fantasies that sustain them through days that are mostly mundane.—
Jamie Thompson,
The Atlantic,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Many immigrant novels contain similar scenes, in which hapless characters embrace improbable visions of America, only to be chastened upon arrival.—
Tope Folarin,
The Atlantic,
8 Nov. 2025
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Microsoft President Brad Smith speaks at a press conference at the Representation of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia about future visions for the development and application of artificial intelligence in education in NRW in Berlin on June 4, 2025.—
Jordan Novet,
CNBC,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Yet the Administration’s 28-point plan for Ukraine and the NSS should end any illusions that this approach is working.—
Amanda Sloat,
Time,
2 Jan. 2026
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With Saturn conjunct Neptune in your seventh house, illusions fade and truth becomes unavoidable.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
31 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Luke, however, didn’t mind sharing his sometimes pie-in-the-sky fantasies and hopes with others.—
Marissa R. Moss,
Rolling Stone,
6 Nov. 2025
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Chartering a speedboat, we were whisked into the bay, a spellbinding expanse of calm, amniotic water dotted with more than 50 tiny islands and pristine beaches that called to mind castaway fantasies.—
David Amsden,
Travel + Leisure,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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But Ma has been deftly drawn as a canny realist and problem solver—not the kind of person to indulge in daydreams.—
Tope Folarin,
The Atlantic,
8 Nov. 2025
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But for business and organizational leaders, this theme doesn’t need to be the stuff of daydreams.—
Jed Brewer,
Rolling Stone,
4 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pipe dreams.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pipe%20dreams. Accessed 7 Jan. 2026.
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