1
as in ridiculous
not likely to occur in the real world
The movie's unrealistic dialogue kept distracting me from the story.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of unrealistic
This mindset can pressure boys to adhere to unrealistic standards of strength and withdraw emotionally rather than expressing themselves or asking for help.
—
Essence, 22 Mar. 2025
The Council’s deadline was in retrospect, and maybe predictably, unrealistic, and the city has also not moved particularly aggressively to find, plan and build out alternative sites.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 21 Mar. 2025
However, this mindset is suffocating and often only leads to further anxiety, stress and unrealistic expectations.
—Kent Ingle, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
Fire and emergency officials have criticized the findings, saying the report cherry-picked worst-case scenarios and projected unrealistic and catastrophic fire and traffic conditions.
—Calmatters, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unrealistic
Essence, 22 Mar. 2025
The Council’s deadline was in retrospect, and maybe predictably, unrealistic, and the city has also not moved particularly aggressively to find, plan and build out alternative sites.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 21 Mar. 2025
However, this mindset is suffocating and often only leads to further anxiety, stress and unrealistic expectations.
—Kent Ingle, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
Fire and emergency officials have criticized the findings, saying the report cherry-picked worst-case scenarios and projected unrealistic and catastrophic fire and traffic conditions.
—Calmatters, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unrealistic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unrealistic
Adjective
-
This hate against transgender people is so ridiculous.—
John Russell,
People.com,
28 Mar. 2025
-
Even in witnessing how ridiculous — and dangerous — the rivalry is, Cherry ultimately isn’t brave enough to make a change.—
Maggie Fremont,
EW.com,
25 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The words were harsh but the logic was not unreasonable.—
George Caulkin,
The Athletic,
24 Mar. 2025
-
This would not be an unreasonable proposition, considering the U.S. already pledged a security guarantee to Ukraine upon its return of all nuclear warheads to Russia by 1996, based on the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances.—
Seung-Whan Choi,
Chicago Tribune,
23 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Munn: These are people who have incredible wealth and are crumbling in front of your eyes.—
Jessica Radloff,
Glamour,
10 Apr. 2025
-
There’s also pressure to read an incredible amount (in my opinion, videos that feature ultra-short books to help viewers boost their end-of-year tally miss the point; reading is not a competition!)—and to spend quite a lot of money.—
Leila Herrmann,
Vogue,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Added to the chaos is the underlying rudimentary calculation of tariff levels that have produced wildly uneven and irrational effects on trading partners with no readily discernible policy value.—
Jerrold Lundquist,
Forbes.com,
5 Apr. 2025
-
The characters are believably upset and irrational for much of the play.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
2 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
This whole exercise of proving the absence of antisemitism as a prerequisite to criticizing Israeli government policy is absurd.—
Raja Krishnamoorthi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Apr. 2025
-
Still, the sexist double standards around pockets have continued to be present in absurd ways.—
Jacqui Palumbo,
CNN Money,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
In regions where extending traditional power lines is costly or impractical, solar microgrids offer a viable, scalable alternative.—
ILYA Likhov,
Forbes.com,
7 Apr. 2025
-
These trees provide good wildlife value, so their removal may be both undesirable and impractical, especially since spores can travel on the wind for quite a distance.—
Miri Talabac,
Baltimore Sun,
27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Plus, the Star Theatre will be decorated with thousands of candles and artificial flowers.—
San Diego Union-Tribune,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
3 Apr. 2025
-
In recent years, Hassabis has balanced the desire of Google’s leaders to commercialize its breakthroughs with his life mission of trying to make artificial general intelligence—AI systems with abilities that can match or surpass humans.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
This strategy worked for him for about 10 years—and then began to bore him silly.—
Art Spiegelman,
The Atlantic,
9 Apr. 2025
-
Props to the people who green-lit Angry Birds to give kids a silly movie about infanticide.—
Jordan Crucchiola,
Vulture,
4 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unrealistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unrealistic. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share