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
Herrera said their initial goals were unrealistic due to staff and student turnover, limited funding and training challenges.
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Connye Griffin, Kansas City Star, 7 Jan. 2026
If travel feels unrealistic, look for opportunities to stretch your mind closer to home.
—Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
But the team is shooting well, and expecting that to continue isn't unrealistic.
—Tony Catalina, Austin American Statesman, 2 Jan. 2026
Skeptics have criticized those promises as unrealistic.
—Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 1 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unrealistic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unrealistic
Adjective
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So the firings of Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski and the Ravens’ Harbaugh have injected some juice into a Giants search that previously threatened to cast as wide and arbitrary a net as last year’s ridiculous Jets process.—
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The Olympics is a ridiculous mixture of hit-you-straight-in-the-feels origin stories and Greek god-level athletic prowess.—
Adjective
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Importantly, the president already has full legal authority to impose tariffs when other nations’ behavior places an unreasonable burden on our economy, including through environmental negligence.—
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The logic was that Spirit had projected the league would grow at a rate that the league itself found unreasonable, and so would not be able to field a team while also paying Rodman.—
Adjective
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After the first Roundtable, Survivor stalwart Rob Cesternino — perhaps clued in by Candiace’s absurd conga line ploy to get people out of the kitchen — sniffed out that a murder in plain sight could be happening.—
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Contrary to what many may think, the researchers found no correlation between a person’s level of education and their capacity to believe in absurd conspiracies.—
Adjective
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Cramer warned that these moments can feel chaotic — even irrational — but are often driven by valuation extremes finally snapping back toward equilibrium.—
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Often, these unjustifiable fears arise simply because people draw irrational conclusions from rational concerns.—
Adjective
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First, of course, is Nakache’s incredible resilience in the face of the demons of his past, which stem from the greater history of his country.—
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There were some incredible individual seasons across positions like San Francisco RB Christian McCaffrey, Seattle WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cleveland DE Myles Garrett.—
Adjective
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Nothing’s as sobering to an impractical but fun idea as having to foot the bill.—
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By increasing effective gravity, researchers can accelerate years or even decades of structural and geological stress into just a few hours, enabling experiments that would be impractical in the real world.—
Adjective
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To say the road to the Super Bowl goes through Jacksonville sounds silly in the NFL’s grand scheme, but for a talented and decorated Bills group that never has won there, that’s the first stop on the quest.—
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Citing the Monroe Doctrine is silly.—
Adjective
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Once the artificial uterine lining was ready, the team introduced two types of embryos into the chip.—
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Not artificial, not external, but absolute.—
Cite this Entry
“Unrealistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unrealistic. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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