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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of starry-eyed
This ancient practice has been a source of guidance and meaning for people from all walks of life, not just mystics and starry-eyed romantics.
—
Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 10 Sep. 2025
Even so, the journey from starry-eyed spectator to industry mainstay was anything but a straight line for the actress.
—Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 4 Sep. 2025
As a result, his vocals have a kind of stately yet starry-eyed quality, giving structure to these deformed, cosmic beats from the internet abyss.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 3 Sep. 2025
Scanning the crowd several times throughout the evening, the only things glowing were the beaming faces of the thousands of starry-eyed McCartney-ites in attendance.
—Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Dimoo, a starry-eyed character imagined by Chinese artist Ayan Deng and turned into figurines by China’s Pop Mart, will be sporting the Swiss jeweler and watchmaker’s Ice Cube designs in limited-edition versions released exclusively in China.
—Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 10 Sep. 2025
Even so, the journey from starry-eyed spectator to industry mainstay was anything but a straight line for the actress.
—Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 4 Sep. 2025
As a result, his vocals have a kind of stately yet starry-eyed quality, giving structure to these deformed, cosmic beats from the internet abyss.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 3 Sep. 2025
Scanning the crowd several times throughout the evening, the only things glowing were the beaming faces of the thousands of starry-eyed McCartney-ites in attendance.
—Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Dimoo, a starry-eyed character imagined by Chinese artist Ayan Deng and turned into figurines by China’s Pop Mart, will be sporting the Swiss jeweler and watchmaker’s Ice Cube designs in limited-edition versions released exclusively in China.
—Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for starry-eyed
Adjective
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While Paris is often framed as endlessly romantic, Wells says the day-to-day realities can be isolating.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
8 Jan. 2026
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Safe to say a breakup album is off the table, as the artist is back in her romantic era.—
Emily Kelleher,
InStyle,
7 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Critics lambasted those policies as impractical at best, reckless at worst.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
5 Nov. 2025
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The Countach is also famously impractical and a pain to drive, so the next buyer will likely be taking on a more-than-usual stewardship role in terms of old supercars, the service not being to themselves but to the wider community, which gets to look at the Countach rather than operate it.—
Erik Shilling,
Robb Report,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The series chronicles the decades-long relationship between Bailey’s bright-eyed and idealistic young congressional staffer Tim and Matt Bomer’s stern State Department official, Hawk.—
Emlyn Travis,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Nov. 2025
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Cowley’s disillusioned but fundamentally idealistic cohort had an unexpected response.—
Michael Gorra,
The Atlantic,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Urbano’s installations, radically utopian in this sense, re-create ideal spaces free from the spatiotemporal coordinates and rigid laws that govern our daily lives.—
Javier Montes,
Artforum,
1 Jan. 2026
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This is a scrapbook of utopian folly, yes, but also an insider’s look at what was, for a time, the wildest workplace on Earth.—
Andrew Holter,
The Atlantic,
31 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Starry-eyed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/starry-eyed. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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