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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Recent Examples of unrealistic
Despite that, Ewers, who battled injuries at Texas while holding off the people’s choice — backup quarterback Arch Manning — isn’t looking too far ahead or being unrealistic.
—
Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 30 July 2025
In other words, admissions officers know that students are using AI for various purposes in their everyday lives (whether intentionally or unintentionally), so insisting that it should never be used may come across as unrealistic and naive.
—Christopher Rim, Forbes.com, 30 July 2025
More than tripling those imports was unrealistic, analysts said.
—Reuters, NBC news, 29 July 2025
The massive energy purchases in the deal are unrealistic due to market and political constraints, analysts said.
—Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 29 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for unrealistic
Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 30 July 2025
In other words, admissions officers know that students are using AI for various purposes in their everyday lives (whether intentionally or unintentionally), so insisting that it should never be used may come across as unrealistic and naive.
—Christopher Rim, Forbes.com, 30 July 2025
More than tripling those imports was unrealistic, analysts said.
—Reuters, NBC news, 29 July 2025
The massive energy purchases in the deal are unrealistic due to market and political constraints, analysts said.
—Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 29 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for unrealistic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unrealistic
Adjective
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Drawing such conclusions from two, admittedly sparkling, performances is ridiculous.—
Zak Garner-Purkis,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
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No Other Choice blends mismatched tones and genre hallmarks in a way that’s typical for Park and yet remains invigorating, leading to a ridiculous look at what happens when the system pushes a person to the very edge of desperation.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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That doesn’t seem like an unreasonable body count for someone who’s about to default on his mortgage — someone who’s already suffered the indignity of being forced to cancel his family’s Netflix account.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
29 Aug. 2025
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State of Ohio et al. v. NCAA (2024): A coalition of states challenged the NCAA’s remaining restrictions on transfers, arguing that the adjusted rule still imposed unreasonable restraint on athletes.—
Nick LoMaglio,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Both owners reported incredible business for their openings.—
Jim Higgins,
jsonline.com,
23 Aug. 2025
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Secretariat won the Belmont by an incredible 31 lengths, and his record time of 2:24 still stands as the fastest of all time.—
Sarah Jean Maher,
New York Times,
23 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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On the irrational front, Cramer pointed to recent IPOs such as Circle, Figma and Bullish, that each saw explosive gains after their debuts.—
Ali McCadden,
CNBC,
14 Aug. 2025
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But exactly the opposite needs to happen: the patient needs to enact her struggle in the room, to be messy, irrational, resentful, out of control.—
Leslie Jamison,
New Yorker,
4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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My point wasn’t that men have had a harder time than women — that would be absurd.—
Emily Zemler,
Rolling Stone,
19 Aug. 2025
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Given the already substantial spend on incoming transfers, suggesting the club needs more, possibly sending its spending past the $500 million mark, seems absurd, almost greedy.—
James Nalton,
Forbes.com,
18 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Micro-payments must feature nano transaction costs, otherwise such payments become impractical.—
Vipin Bharathan,
Forbes.com,
28 Aug. 2025
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The company's engineers wrote papers and performed studies that argued SpaceX's plans were impractical.—
Eric Berger,
ArsTechnica,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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So maybe that’s what the AI fathers and godfathers should be focusing on: not how to create artificial children, mothers and maternal instincts, but how to use their paternal instincts to build AI that gives way to humans, for better or worse?—
Pia Lauritzen,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
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Sort of like seeing artificial Christmas trees sprout up for sale in October.—
Susan Tompor,
USA Today,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Alcaraz and Sinner are early enough in their careers that debates around their legacies feel silly.—
Hua Hsu,
New Yorker,
20 Aug. 2025
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Evans described Steve as goofy, silly, and full of charm, with a love for food and people alike.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unrealistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unrealistic. Accessed 3 Sep. 2025.
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