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”; see origin at rave ¹, -ery

Explanation

If you're relaxing on the beach, dreaming of how you will never have to get up and go back to work, you're engaged in a reverie, or pleasant daydream. There's nothing wrong with reverie, but if you follow its path into English, you'll see how closely it is connected to madness. The noun is from French rêverie, from a Middle French word meaning "wild speech, delirium," from rever "to roam, speak wildly." Middle French rever is also the source of English rave, as in raving mad.

Example Sentences

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 • Oct. 9, 2025

He is likely to find this reverie equally fantastical.

From Slate • May 8, 2025

"Ring the bell, sound the trumpets reverie, something is done, something is beginning. One of the great wise ones has passed."

From BBC • Jan. 18, 2025

Who were we, to interrupt this man’s reverie?

From Salon • Nov. 2, 2024

The slow journey up the Inside Passage unfolded in a gauzy reverie of anticipation.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

Related Words

• contemplation
• fantasy
• meditation
• trance