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
But even those valuations look extremely unrealistic, not least because of the additional financial burden that their wages would bring.
—
Oliver Kay, New York Times, 5 July 2025
Expanding or finishing the subway is sadly unrealistic at this time given its cost.
—Scott Wartman, The Enquirer, 4 July 2025
Occurring approximately every 40 to 42 years, Neptune square urges us to understand situations on a deeper level and believe in things that may be unrealistic.
—Lisa Stardust, People.com, 3 July 2025
Expecting Iranians to rise up during Israel’s bombing campaign was, at best, unrealistic.
—Roya Boroumand, Time, 9 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for unrealistic
Oliver Kay, New York Times, 5 July 2025
Expanding or finishing the subway is sadly unrealistic at this time given its cost.
—Scott Wartman, The Enquirer, 4 July 2025
Occurring approximately every 40 to 42 years, Neptune square urges us to understand situations on a deeper level and believe in things that may be unrealistic.
—Lisa Stardust, People.com, 3 July 2025
Expecting Iranians to rise up during Israel’s bombing campaign was, at best, unrealistic.
—Roya Boroumand, Time, 9 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for unrealistic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unrealistic
Adjective
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Thomas, Scheffler, DeChambeau, McIlroy and Koepka are seen throughout the movie, participating in Gilmore’s ridiculous training sessions and eventually battling an antagonistic group of golfers from the fictional Maxi professional golf league.—
Stephanie Stremplewski,
Louisville Courier Journal,
26 July 2025
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These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.—
Domenico Montanaro,
NPR,
25 July 2025
Adjective
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His exact demands are unknown but given his status as one of the world’s leading players a range of £250,000 to £300,000 a week is far from unreasonable.—
Chris Weatherspoon,
New York Times,
25 July 2025
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Barbara Attard, a police accountability expert, said meet and confer can last months, but beyond a year is unreasonable.—
Kelly Davis,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 July 2025
Adjective
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Some incredible people were with us at the beginning, but life happens.—
Jon-Michael Banks,
Kansas City Star,
30 July 2025
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Everyone who works at Sunderland has just gone through an incredible challenge of trying to navigate from League One to the Premier League.—
Zak Garner-Purkis,
Forbes.com,
30 July 2025
Adjective
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And even some buyers who pride themselves on discipline and efficiency turn somewhat irrational.—
Ken Rosenthal,
New York Times,
28 July 2025
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The firm’s Hype Cycle normalizes — even glamorizes — the irrational, costly overpromising and overselling that hype entails.—
Eric Siegel,
Forbes.com,
28 July 2025
Adjective
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From the vantage point of 2025, this appears as absurd as suggesting that women’s soccer matches should be 70 minutes instead of 90, the same as in the men’s game.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
New York Times,
12 July 2025
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The French super powerhouse has taken teams part since winning the UEFA Champions League crown on May 24, outscoring its foes by an absurd 21-1 margin.—
Michael Lewis,
Forbes.com,
12 July 2025
Adjective
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Agent deployment is impractical, while VDI introduces performance penalties and complexity.—
Etay Maor,
Forbes.com,
24 July 2025
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Adelman, who will preside over her trial, suggested in the June 18 hearing that the current schedule was impractical.—
Daniel Bice,
jsonline.com,
15 July 2025
Adjective
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Subscribe now Like other experts whom CNBC spoke to, Raghunathan established market manipulation as deliberately misleading or influencing prices and trading volumes to create artificial trends or unfair advantages, such as pump-and-dump schemes and wash trading.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
18 July 2025
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The formula delivers the classic Coca-Cola taste that Americans are familiar with domestically. Kennedy Jr. has pushed food manufacturers to phase out artificial food dyes from American products as well as reduce sugar levels.—
Mandy Taheri
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 July 2025
Adjective
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There were no costumes, no silly dances or hit parodies.—
Courtney Devores,
Charlotte Observer,
28 July 2025
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That may sound silly to some, Foster said, but the work done by the Environmental Protection Agency in placing bands on birds and following the migration of bees informs officials about the impact of projects on the environment.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
27 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unrealistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unrealistic. Accessed 2 Aug. 2025.
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