UNREALISTIC Synonyms: 83 Similar and Opposite Words

unrealistic

adjective

Definition of unrealistic

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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Dissimilar Words

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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Dissimilar Words

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 Burnham estimated that the same strategy for 114 would cost perhaps $100 million or more, making such a blunt approach unrealistic. — Lyndie Chiou, Scientific American, 2 Oct. 2026 The problem is, we’re conditioned to expect something totally unrealistic. — Alicja Turczyk, The Dial, 29 Sep. 2026 Messaging becomes unclear; expectations become unrealistic; and confidence begins to erode. — Ramesh Tambe, Forbes.com, 28 Sep. 2026 The Dotcom Bubble burst was because of a multitude of reasons, mostly unrealistic valuations for many tech businesses earning zero profits. — Sean Conlon, CNBC, 24 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for unrealistic

Recent Examples of Synonyms for unrealistic

Adjective

Just two friends being completely ridiculous and enjoying life.

— Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2026
The casting was essential because the film only works if everyone commits completely to this ridiculous situation.

— Annika Pham, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of ridiculous

Adjective

But Michael Edney, who worked at the OLC under Bush, said the opinion’s reading of executive privilege was not unreasonable, given the importance that some presidents place on outside consultation.

— Perry Stein, Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2026
Both sides have accused each other of being unreasonable and of ignoring practical concerns about voting and election security, though in very different ways.

— Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of unreasonable

Adjective

This episode notably lacked any nod to Trump, though mentions of the president as a whole have been brief compared to the previous season, when the president was the show’s focal point for absurd antics.

— Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
And Saturday’s win proved that his plan to pursue championships — something that seemed absurd amid a lost 2025 season — has a real possibility of paying off with one.

— Connor Dullinger, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of absurd

Adjective

The industrial revolutions of the past produced enormous value alongside bankruptcies, dislocations, and periods of irrational exuberance.

— Brian Solis, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026
If anyone can reconstruct Apéry’s reasoning, the odd values of zeta may finally be proven irrational.

— Lyndie Chiou, Scientific American, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of irrational

Adjective

Wearing impractical stilettos and clutching a massive Stanley cup, Trina is introduced to her new pupils.

— Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
Their potential applications include modeling advanced materials and chemical reactions, optimizing complex logistics networks and addressing some computational problems that are impractical for today’s systems.

— Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of impractical

Adjective

The feds gave the state a silly 48-hour deadline to agree to change constitutional law, dump common sense and sequester these 20,000 ballots, if they were even returned, to double-check they were cast by valid voters.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
Performed by legends Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, the silly song is a tongue-twister for kiddos, and the titular word, which means ‘extraordinarily good, wonderful’ even made its way into some real deal dictionaries.

— Stephanie Ganz Published, Parents, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of silly

Adjective

Other parts of government already contract out rocket launches, cloud storage, satellite intelligence and artificial-intelligence analysis to the tech sector.

— Sarah Scoles, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Stocks in the artificial-intelligence industry bounced back Monday on Wall Street and recovered some of their steep losses from last week, but the rest of the market and stocks worldwide were shaky.

— Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of artificial

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unreal

unrealistic

unrealities

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“Unrealistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unrealistic. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of unrealistic

adjective

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