reverie

American  

[rev-uh-ree] / ˈrɛv ə ri /

Sometimes revery

noun

1. a state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing.

   lost in reverie.

   Synonyms:

   brown study, abstraction

2. a daydream.

3. a fantastic, visionary, or impractical idea.

   reveries that will never come to fruition.

4. Music. an instrumental composition of a vague and dreamy character.

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reverie British  

/ ˈrɛvərɪ /

noun

1. an act or state of absent-minded daydreaming

   to fall into a reverie

2. a piece of instrumental music suggestive of a daydream

3. archaic a fanciful or visionary notion; daydream

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Etymology

Origin of reverie

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Old French reverie, resverie, derivative of rever, resver, raver “to speak wildly, wander, dream”; rave ¹, -ery

Example Sentences

The remark startled Penelope out of her reverie, for “Penny” is what Miss Mortimer always called her, and no one else ever did.

From Literature

A familiar voice from behind me brought me out of my reverie.

From Literature

The six-bedroom home is described in its listing as an “architectural reverie” that draws “respectful inspiration from the Chumash people,” a Native American tribe that once occupied the land.

From MarketWatch

This moves the contact into the seldom used “X file,” where I can, in my moments of reverie, review and remind myself of those once treasured relationships.

From The Wall Street Journal

Now, shaken from a reverie, reality collides with illusion at the languid pace of a stream.

From Salon

Related Words

• contemplation
• fantasy
• meditation
• trance