dreamer

[dree-mer]

See more synonyms for dreamer on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person who dreams.
a person who lives in a world of fantasy; one who is impractical and unrealistic.
a person whose ideas or projects are considered audacious or highly speculative; visionary.

Origin of dreamer

1250–1300; Middle English. See dream, -er¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for dreamer

Contemporary Examples

He was a dreamer, an idealist, grounded in the reality he observed around him.
Mario Cuomo, Always Moving Us Toward the Light
Mike Barnicle
January 4, 2015
Then came Obama, handsome rider of unicorns and dreamer of hope and change.
Hey, Boomers—Millennials Hate Your Partisan Crap
Nick Gillespie
July 10, 2014
Allan Mayer, American Apparel's co-chair, seemingly laughed at Charney's plea, labeling him "a dreamer."
American Apparel’s Dov Charney Speaks for First Time Since Firing
The Fashion Beast Team
June 24, 2014
Secretly, however, Marie pines for Emil Bergson, a dreamer and intellect who seems ill-suited to life on a farm.
American Dreams: ‘O Pioneers!’ by Willa Cather
Nathaniel Rich
February 27, 2013
The dreamer tries to help, and fends off a man who is about to accost her with lecherous intentions.
Book Bag: André Aciman’s Favorite Novellas of Unconsummated Loves
André Aciman
January 1, 2013

Historical Examples

A big child, a dreamer of dreams in the skin of a terrible sectarian!
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
If you meet him, you will find him a dreamer and a theorist.
Jennie Baxter, Journalist
Robert Barr
One of them, a young man with the face of a dreamer, was speaking.
A Breath of Prairie and other stories
Will Lillibridge
It was the pure love of the idealist and the dreamer––it was divine.
A Breath of Prairie and other stories
Will Lillibridge
With its keen sensitive-ness and its undefined melancholy it was a dreamer's face.
Stories of a Western Town
Octave Thanet

British Dictionary definitions for dreamer

dreamer

noun

a person who dreams habitually
a person who lives in or escapes to a world of fantasy or illusion; escapist
archaic a prophet; visionary

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for dreamer

n.

c.1300, "one who dreams," agent noun from dream (v.). Meaning "idler, daydreamer" emerged by 1530s. Old English dreamere meant "musician."

dreamer

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}dreamer

Examples from the Web for dreamer

Contemporary Examples

He was a dreamer, an idealist, grounded in the reality he observed around him.

Then came Obama, handsome rider of unicorns and dreamer of hope and change.

Allan Mayer, American Apparel's co-chair, seemingly laughed at Charney's plea, labeling him "a dreamer."

Secretly, however, Marie pines for Emil Bergson, a dreamer and intellect who seems ill-suited to life on a farm.

The dreamer tries to help, and fends off a man who is about to accost her with lecherous intentions.

Historical Examples

A big child, a dreamer of dreams in the skin of a terrible sectarian!

If you meet him, you will find him a dreamer and a theorist.

One of them, a young man with the face of a dreamer, was speaking.

It was the pure love of the idealist and the dreamer––it was divine.

With its keen sensitive-ness and its undefined melancholy it was a dreamer's face.

dreamer

Word Origin and History for dreamer

n.

Origin of dreamer