magical thinking

American  

noun

1. a conviction that thinking is equivalent to doing, occurring in dreams, the thought patterns of children, and some types of mental disorders, especially obsessive-compulsive disorder.

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Example Sentences

An imaginative amalgam of astutely observed naturalism and fantastical distortions, Rousseau’s paintings combine so-called primitive traditions of folk art, Byzantine mosaics and pre-Renaissance Gothic painting, as well as magical thinking and the candid spontaneity of children’s art.

From The Wall Street Journal

Each of these proposals attempts to address real problems but are either the result of magical thinking or will do more harm than good.

From Barron's

Last year a study put paid to magical thinking.

From The Wall Street Journal

Metcalfe’s pursuit of revelation in a single lost poem is magical thinking, a relentless grasping for a chimera.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s sort of magical thinking—pay no attention to the pattern behind the curtain.

From Slate