1
as in ridiculous
not likely to occur in the real world
The movie's unrealistic dialogue kept distracting me from the story.
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2
as in unreasonable
based on what is wanted or hoped for rather than on what is possible or likely
He had unrealistic expectations about the type of apartment he could afford on his meager salary. The valuation placed on this company is completely unrealistic.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unrealistic
There has been a consistent pattern with Florida football where a group of Gators fans complains about the current head coach, sportswriters mock them for having unrealistic expectations, and then those fans turn out to be totally correct.
—
Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2025
To think otherwise is completely unrealistic.
—U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2025
Poor purchasing practices such as tight lead times, last-minute changes to orders and unrealistic production volumes are another.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 8 Sep. 2025
Ureña gave the Angels’ hitters a chance to get back in the game, which didn’t seem unrealistic considering Barnett’s first inning.
—Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 6 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unrealistic
Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2025
To think otherwise is completely unrealistic.
—U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2025
Poor purchasing practices such as tight lead times, last-minute changes to orders and unrealistic production volumes are another.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 8 Sep. 2025
Ureña gave the Angels’ hitters a chance to get back in the game, which didn’t seem unrealistic considering Barnett’s first inning.
—Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 6 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unrealistic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unrealistic
Adjective
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But now, Netflix has deemed that almost any mildly or very successful show like Wednesday must now air its episodes in a 2+ month split, broken in half, or in some ridiculous instances, broken into thirds (see the November 26, December 25, December 31 split for Stranger Things season 5).—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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And on Sunday, the feat got even more ridiculous, as Chapman struck out four batters in an inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks, thanks to a wild pitch catcher Carlos Narváez couldn't corral.—
Jackson Roberts,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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We're protected from unreasonable searches and seizures.—
Adeola Adeosun,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Sep. 2025
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This is a crude and unreasonable attempt to make the discussion into an all-or-nothing affair.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Harry brought his trademark humor and warmth to the awards, a ceremony honoring seriously ill children who have shown incredible courage, joking and making smiles all around.—
Erin Hill,
People.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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Thanks to incredible works like Parasite and Squid Game, Korean content has made huge achievements on the world stage.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Losing Fed independence is like giving free rein to emotional, irrational decision making.—
Hersh Shefrin,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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Maura’s performance makes Maria Angeles so magnetic and eccentric — earthily practical on some matters, dizzily irrational on others, and sympathetically true to herself on all fronts — that all the film’s other players want for detail and texture by comparison.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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There’s no denying that catfish noodling is an absurd sport.—
Natalie Krebs,
Outdoor Life,
11 Sep. 2025
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Barely any other media in recent times has given me an instant shock of glee or revulsion like this absurd anarcho-cartoon being stretched and squeezed to its most grotesque and wholesome clickbait limits.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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But, because mange often accompanies secondary infections and nutritional imbalances, treatment in the wild is impractical, making the work at Walden's Puddle and other rehabilitation facilities all the more important, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Communications Manager Jason Harmon said.—
Katie Nixon,
Nashville Tennessean,
5 Sep. 2025
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The internet faced ridicule for its impractical nature during its initial development phase.—
Sadhasivam Mohanadas,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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To address these challenges, the Institute of Energy carried out research on the steady-state operation performance of China’s USD one-trillion ‘artificial sun’ fusion reactor.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Sep. 2025
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Vote as many times as you’d like until then without using bots or any other artificial methods of voting.—
Nathan Canilao,
Mercury News,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Many kids find repeating these phrases satisfying, or silly, or just plain fun to say, Estevez says.—
Wendy Wisner,
Parents,
8 Sep. 2025
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There are no silly games being played.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unrealistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unrealistic. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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