trances

Definition of trancesnext
plural of trance
as in reveries
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for trances
Noun
  • Whether set in Jewish eastern Europe or New York’s Lower East Side, Shtok’s range is on full display, from gossipy melodramas and elegiac reveries to coming of age portraits of shtetl adolescents and immigrant hustlers.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026
  • Burnett was content to mine references from her own Depression-era youth; her famous maid character, the Charwoman, who became something of a show mascot, harked back to Chaplin’s Little Tramp, wearing a rumpled outfit and performing silent reveries.
    Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Just think of all those vacant Madonnas, structurally perfect compositions, and obedient daydreams of antiquity.
    Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
  • The family car is a Mazda, but Zac daydreams of a Bugatti Veyron.
    Frank Langfitt, NPR, 4 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • The body of commentary that has developed since, particularly in the field of postcolonial studies, has traced the ways in which uninvited borrowings follow the vectors of asymmetrical power relations.
    Glenn Adamson, Artforum, 2 May 2026
  • The best reality shows—every Bravo franchise, The Kardashians, Dance Moms—are anthropological studies with campy one-liners, life blown up to exaggerated proportions.
    Daisy Jones, Vogue, 2 May 2026
Noun
  • Their shared trip gradually turns into a confrontation with their own lives, relationships and visions of the future.
    Leo Barraclough, Variety, 6 May 2026
  • There are many competing visions of how technology and military strategy should be combined in the Gulf’s waters, some of which cross into the bizarre.
    Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 4 May 2026
Noun
  • The event will feature an in-gallery tour, meditations, conversation and a reception.
    La Jolla Light, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Apr. 2026
  • Those two films are commonly described as meditations on the futility of violence in a world where justice takes the form of endless attacks and reprisals.
    Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Internal memos between the justices in 2016 published by The New York Times have created a firestorm around an institution that takes extraordinary measures to keep its contemplations confidential.
    Ella Lee, The Hill, 22 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams.
    Harriette Cole, Mercury News, 4 May 2026
  • Tess saved four lives through organ donation, and scholarships in her honor are now helping young people chase their own dreams.
    Wakisha Bailey, CBS News, 4 May 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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“Trances.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trances. Accessed 9 May. 2026.

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