dreamy
Americanadjective
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vague or impractical
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resembling a dream in quality
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relaxing; gentle
dreamy music
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informal wonderful
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having dreams, esp daydreams
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of dreamy
Explanation
Things that are dreamy seem slightly strange and unreal, but in a lovely way. A dreamy tune on the radio might make you close your eyes and smile. Your favorite tea shop might have a dreamy atmosphere, and your favorite movie might be slow and dreamy, with dreamlike images and meditative music. If a person is dreamy, she tends to live in her head, thinking or daydreaming. Informally, you can also describe something or someone that's wonderful or nice to look at as dreamy: "He's my favorite singer, and he's so dreamy." This casual meaning began as US teen slang in the 1940s.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In “The Dreamy Side,” Molina traces the roots of these cross-cultural musical obsessions to the early R&B scene in Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2026
Dreamy photographs of baskets and exposed-wood beams and straw hats hanging on peg hooks quiet thoughts such as “Will my job be replaced by AI?”
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025
Dreamy, singalong hooks abound, as on this exuberant single.
From New York Times • Oct. 27, 2023
For Year 2, So Dreamy slides over to Seattle’s all-ages DIY bastion The Vera Project with a lineup led by Seattle hip-hop stalwart Taylar Elizza Beth, R&B/bedroom pop artist Claudine Magbag, SuperCoze and more.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 11, 2023
Dreamy as the scene was, might it not be a type of the mode in which departed people, who had known and loved each other here, would hold communion in eternity?
From The Vision of the Fountain (From "Twice Told Tales") by Hawthorne, Nathaniel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
