as in daydreaming
the state of being lost in thought
lulled by the sound of the train, she stared out the window in a trance, oblivious to the fact that the conductor was taking tickets
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Recent Examples of trance
Inspired by the American Midwest, the South Londoners’ debut album is a drifting odyssey through ambient and downtempo trance that captures the feeling of meditative drives on sprawling backroads.
—
Billie Bugara, Pitchfork, 19 Dec. 2025
The K-pop boy band Cortis arrived with an entourage of handlers and bopped around to their own music; the trance DJ Armin van Buuren got stony-serious on the topic of his new, piano-only album.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 18 Dec. 2025
Nothing can distract her; she’s gone into a kind of trance.
—Elizabeth Preston, Scientific American, 16 Dec. 2025
Swedish pop sensation Zara Larsson has the world in a trance.
—Andre Claudio, Sourcing Journal, 15 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for trance
Billie Bugara, Pitchfork, 19 Dec. 2025
The K-pop boy band Cortis arrived with an entourage of handlers and bopped around to their own music; the trance DJ Armin van Buuren got stony-serious on the topic of his new, piano-only album.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 18 Dec. 2025
Nothing can distract her; she’s gone into a kind of trance.
—Elizabeth Preston, Scientific American, 16 Dec. 2025
Swedish pop sensation Zara Larsson has the world in a trance.
—Andre Claudio, Sourcing Journal, 15 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for trance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trance
Noun
-
These cuts enable us to spend more time daydreaming and less time in the salon.—
Loren Savini,
Allure,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Filmmaking is blind instinct, petty calculations, smooth generalship, daydreaming, pig-headedness, grace, bluff, risk.—
Susan Sontag,
Vogue,
26 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The train from London cut through the verdant English countryside like a dreamy reverie.—
Joe Hagan,
Vanity Fair,
26 Feb. 2026
-
This time, the soloist was the stellar emerging pianist Yunchan Lim, who keeps to himself, either lost in dreamy reverie or, like a jumpy teenager, in ferocious attack mode.—
Classical Music Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Trance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trance. Accessed 5 Mar. 2026.
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