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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During the podcast, Paris revealed that the pair's relationship began to break down six months before their eventual split amid fan speculation about a romantic relationship between Powell and Sweeney.—
Tabitha Parent,
PEOPLE,
28 Oct. 2025
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The season concludes on a romantic and hopeful note for Noah and Joanne.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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If there’s a force majeure clause in the new rights contracts that allows the NBA’s media partners to temporarily halt running sportsbook ads when an unforeseeable event makes such airings impractical, it’s hidden under a tide of black ink.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
24 Oct. 2025
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Robots have become indispensable in environments where high radiation or structural complexity makes human intervention dangerous or impractical.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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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.—
Abby Hamblin,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 Oct. 2025
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Set in the Deep South, the film follows Coach Walt McFadden, played by Michael Mosley (Ozark), a talented but idealistic assistant coach at Louisiana University who’s out of second chances.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Necessary for doctrinal shifts—but needs to be grounded to avoid utopian overreach.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
27 Oct. 2025
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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
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 30 Oct. 2025.
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