as in daydreaming
the state of being lost in thought
lulled by the sound of the train, she stared out the window in a trance, oblivious to the fact that the conductor was taking tickets
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Recent Examples of trance
Inspired by the American Midwest, the South Londoners’ debut album is a drifting odyssey through ambient and downtempo trance that captures the feeling of meditative drives on sprawling backroads.
—
Billie Bugara, Pitchfork, 19 Dec. 2025
The K-pop boy band Cortis arrived with an entourage of handlers and bopped around to their own music; the trance DJ Armin van Buuren got stony-serious on the topic of his new, piano-only album.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 18 Dec. 2025
Nothing can distract her; she’s gone into a kind of trance.
—Elizabeth Preston, Scientific American, 16 Dec. 2025
Swedish pop sensation Zara Larsson has the world in a trance.
—Andre Claudio, Sourcing Journal, 15 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for trance
Billie Bugara, Pitchfork, 19 Dec. 2025
The K-pop boy band Cortis arrived with an entourage of handlers and bopped around to their own music; the trance DJ Armin van Buuren got stony-serious on the topic of his new, piano-only album.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 18 Dec. 2025
Nothing can distract her; she’s gone into a kind of trance.
—Elizabeth Preston, Scientific American, 16 Dec. 2025
Swedish pop sensation Zara Larsson has the world in a trance.
—Andre Claudio, Sourcing Journal, 15 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for trance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trance
Noun
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Filmmaking is blind instinct, petty calculations, smooth generalship, daydreaming, pig-headedness, grace, bluff, risk.—
Susan Sontag,
Vogue,
26 Oct. 2025
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The colorful flowers are perfect for a photo-op or casual daydreaming.—
Paige Moore,
AZCentral.com,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Whether set in Jewish eastern Europe or New York’s Lower East Side, Shtok’s range is on full display, from gossipy melodramas and elegiac reveries to coming of age portraits of shtetl adolescents and immigrant hustlers.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Jan. 2026
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Some writers are naturally drawn to this kind of reverie.—
Erin Somers,
The Atlantic,
6 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Trance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trance. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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