Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Having a naively enthusiastic, overoptimistic, or romantic view; unrealistic.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Describing one who has naïvely optimistic hopes or outlooks.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective unrealistically or naively optimistic

Etymologies

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Examples

  • But back in 1927, Nan Britton couldn't find a publisher willing to touch her account of her affair, as a starry-eyed teenager, with President Warren G.

    History That Tells An Unexpected Tale Harry Stein 2011

  • It isn't the sum of a few more malentendus* that will soon shake up my quotidien, * but one starry-eyed survivor who, by her breath, will be a constant reminder to part from my tree-hugging ways, to venture out to the end of the limb and consider the view from the tip of an unsteady branch.

    French Word-A-Day: 2009

  • After the traditional group photos on the front porch, we drove off, leaving the starry-eyed young'uns to make their way on Mars.

    MDRS-88 sol 14 photos kateyule 2010

  • No, this was a uniquely charr torment—with churning water and buoyant hyenas and a pesky human and a starry-eyed sylvari leading a parade of fools.

    GuildWars Edge of Destiny J. Robert King 2011

  • The earnings shortfall is mostly owed to starry-eyed forecasting, but buyers should wait, writes Jack Hough.

    Apple 'Disappoints'? Blame Wall Street Jack Hough 2011

  • Let the wine speak for itself and do away with all the noise contributed by pompous winemakers and starry-eyed marketers that no longer have the ability to look at their wines with objectivity.

    What do you want on a back label? | Dr Vino's wine blog 2010

  • The most heroic guy in town -- a true Ayn Rand colossus -- is brought low and defeated by a starry-eyed socialist who pretends to be a businessman but wouldn't know how to scoop up a great deal if fell out of the pockets of the guy in front of him.

    Doug Molitor: Doug's Dozen (VIDEO): 12 Reasons the G.O.P. Should Run Old Man Potter Doug Molitor 2011

  • Those sexy curves, those glossy wet neon planes, the liquid marble lips, the starry-eyed bulbs and longing tips bursting out gravity-free -- can't you hear it?

    "The needle sticks and the penny drops." greygirlbeast 2010

  • Quiet folks ... the woman who should have been the 44th President of the United States is handling our starry-eyed mainstream media with the ease that comes with being a part of the most successful Democratic presidential legacy since FDR (see Bill Clinton).

    Clinton: 'I broke my elbow, not my larynx' 2009

  • Caithe and Zojja were not starry-eyed about the prospects, either.

    GuildWars Edge of Destiny J. Robert King 2011

Comments

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  • i always like to look at words containing "unrealistic" or "unrealistically" in their definitions with optimism, like "dreamer" or "romantic". someone should make a list of Words for the Self-Proclaimed Naïve.

    November 22, 2008