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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Both have the talent to back up their dreams.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Strong foundations can carry big dreams without unnecessary strain.—
Tarot.com,
The Orlando Sentinel,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
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But there was more blank space to fill in on Issei’s end, with Season 2 swapping out fantasy sequences in Camille’s mind palace for Issei’s visions of black-and-white moonscapes to that effect.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
11 Mar. 2026
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Disturbing visions and a shocking disappearance forces him to confront dark corners of his past.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Only hours into the conflict, an errant strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ school in southern Iran served as a gut-wrenching reminder of the cost of such illusions, and a testament to the grim truth that those who pay most dearly for the fog of war are almost always the innocent.—
Karim Sadjadpour,
The Atlantic,
4 Mar. 2026
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Miuccia Prada, herself a billionaire, has no illusions that the runway is a space for political grandstanding.—
Rachel Tashjian,
CNN Money,
3 Mar. 2026
Noun
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From that premise, Gyllenhaal lighted on 1930s movie musicals as some of the glossiest and most charming fantasies that Hollywood has ever put out, but also as some of the most consciously artificial.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
11 Mar. 2026
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In fact, his manuscript is also about his fantasies—in this case, fantasies about a young man who has a meaningful, intellectual, tender affair with his older mentor.—
Meg Walters,
Glamour,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
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More than masturbatory daydreams, Vladimir inspires our heroine to write with abandon, ignoring professional and personal obligations in service to her muse.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
5 Mar. 2026
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Below, some of the finest, high-quality ruffled bedding around the web for creating the frothy bedscape of your daydreams.—
Yelena Moroz Alpert,
Architectural Digest,
28 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pipe dreams.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pipe%20dreams. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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