parallel universe

American  

[par-uh-lel yoo-nuh-vurs] / ˈpær əˌlɛl ˈyu nəˌvɜrs /

noun

1. Physics. any of a hypothetical collection of undetectable universes that are like our known universe but have branched off from our universe due to a quantum-level event.

2. (in cosmology) a hypothetical universe that coexists with our known universe but may operate under fundamentally different laws of physics.

3. Also called alternate universe,.  Also called alternative universe.  (in science fiction, fantasy, etc.) a separate universe or world that coexists with our known universe but is very different from it.

4. a realm of existence and experience that is fundamentally different from the one that most humans share; a separate reality.

   I don’t understand him—I think he lives in a parallel universe.

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Etymology

Origin of parallel universe

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

In his parallel universe he said that winning wasn't everything while his masterpiece was under construction.

From BBC

"It's about moments, it's about details," he said, as if moments and details exist in a parallel universe from players and managers.

From BBC

At the same time, entrepreneurs were creating a financial parallel universe: in venture capital with firms such as Greylock, Sequoia Capital, and Kleiner Perkins formed in the late 1960s and early 1970s; hedge funds including Bridgewater Associates, Elliot, and Tudor Investment; and private-equity firms KKR, Blackstone, and Carlyle Group, all established in the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s.

From Barron's

The Chili Peppers sang—“Around the World,” “Parallel Universe,” “Scar Tissue,” “Otherside”—over and over and over.

From Literature

It was like you walked into some kind of parallel universe, a place where Scotland were now ruthless and full of running and where New Zealand were hanging on for grim death.

From BBC