Synonyms of starry-eyed

starry-eyed

adjective

ˈstär-ē-ˌīd 

as in romantic

having or marked by a tendency to be guided more by ideals than by reality

the starry-eyed notion that international sports competitions actually help foster global harmony

Synonyms & Similar Words

• romantic
• impractical
• idealistic
• utopian
• idealist
• quixotic
• optimistic
• ideological
• starry
• hopeful
• visionary
• quixotical
• zealous
• sentimental
• messianic
• unrealistic
• crusading
• moony
• moonstruck
• dewy-eyed
• doctrinaire
• rosy
• Pollyannaish
• upbeat
• tender-minded

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• hardheaded
• clear-eyed
• unsentimental
• pragmatic
• realistic
• practical
• clear-sighted
• tough-minded
• hard-nosed

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of starry-eyed

Even amid dismal ratings for the US government overall, views of NASA remain relatively starry-eyed. — Ariel Edwards-Levy, CNN Money, 9 Apr. 2026

It had supposedly been made in the nineteen-forties, for an Italian countess or an English lady, then scrapped, and afterward either smuggled out of the workroom by a starry-eyed seamstress or, with the atelier head’s approval, given to one of the in-house models. — Han Ong, New Yorker, 15 Mar. 2026

But Sexistential, released in March, pushes in the opposite direction, toward starry-eyed excess and abandon. — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 11 Mar. 2026

On Tuesday night, as the NFL world reeled with the Maxx Crosby news and the NBA was starry-eyed at Bam Adebayo’s 83-point game, the rest of us were watching Team Italy embarrass the good ol’ US of A with an 8-6 win in the World Baseball Classic. — Jon Greenberg, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2026