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
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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The romantic drama is in theaters March 13 Colleen Hoover is bringing another romantic drama to the big screen.—
Benjamin VanHoose,
PEOPLE,
21 Oct. 2025
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Although the looks were from pre-spring 2026, the mood was romantic, and nodded to the fall 2025 collection.—
Samantha Conti,
Footwear News,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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This made real-time speech recognition impractical.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Oct. 2025
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Stanley, the spokesman for WSPA, said the refinery rules and other measures were impractical.—
CalMatters,
Mercury News,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Venus is extremely content in idealistic Libra.—
Lisa Stardust,
Refinery29,
14 Oct. 2025
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For more than a century, people have wondered if the city is ungovernable; with the exception of Fiorello La Guardia, who had New Deal money raining down on him, every idealistic leader who has been elected mayor has left City Hall in some way battered by it.—
Eric Lach,
New Yorker,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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In times of uncertainty, particularly under the growing threat of totalitarianism, utopian fantasies provide a way to reflect on the situation and, potentially, outline a path toward a positive outcome.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
16 Oct. 2025
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Commissioned by Lincoln Center, the solarpunk narrative explores themes of survival, climate reckoning, and generational power struggles aboard a floating utopian colony in the Pacific Ocean.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
1 Oct. 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 23 Oct. 2025.
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