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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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
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
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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In fact, today a friendship could turn romantic.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
30 Sep. 2025
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Cassie and another accuser, Jane, told jurors that Diddy brought them into his troubled world under the false auspices of a romantic relationship.—
Victoria Bekiempis,
Vulture,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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In vacuum and one-sixth gravity, lubricants boil off, moving parts behave differently, and remote or autonomous operation is necessary because of the time delay between Earth and Moon, which makes real-time teleoperation impractical.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Sep. 2025
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Unfortunately, some of these tests are impractical and risk causing real-world harm.—
Matthew Hutson,
IEEE Spectrum,
22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Edward, played by Louis Partridge, was the youngest of the Guinness siblings and played in the series as the most idealistic and ambitious of the heirs.—
Emily Blackwood,
PEOPLE,
27 Sep. 2025
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In a similar vein, pardon the pun, comes this Frank Wildhorn gothic musical about a Victorian-era doctor with two personalities, one an idealistic doctor, the other an evil murderer.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
21 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Ramírez planted the flag in the infield grass before Slider grabbed it, engaged with a sea of fans who didn’t want to abandon the utopian setting at the ballpark, and then handed it to David Fry.—
Zack Meisel,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
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At the same time, such a transition as implied by the current crisis necessitates and implies a coming organizational shift in society, but that could either result in a hideous fascism or in something genuinely utopian.—
Ed Simon
September 24,
Literary Hub,
24 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Wish-casting a better result for a confrontation in a different place, Vindman suppresses how much and how often America antagonized Russia through its idealist actions, rather than realist inaction.—
Samuel Moyn,
Harpers Magazine,
16 July 2025
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This, in turn, becomes logically reliant on the idealist paradigm of Consciousness as the fundamental lowest common denominator of reality.—
Carlo Tortora Brayda,
Forbes,
6 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Starry-eyed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/starry-eyed. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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