Reverie
noun /ˈrevəri/ — A pleasant daydream you didn't plan to enter.
Definition
A state of being pleasantly lost in one's thoughts; a daydream.
Beyond the definition
The word for the state that happens before you realize it's happening. A reverie doesn't announce itself — you notice it from the inside, usually when something recalls you from it. A gentle, drifting cousin to meditation.
Origin & history
From French rêverie — dreaming, wandering thought (rêver 'to dream').
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
She was lost in reverie, staring at the rain on the window without seeing it.
The music pulled him into a reverie about the summer they'd spent at the coast.
He emerged from his reverie to find the coffee cold and the room emptied.
Synonyms
daydream, fantasy, trance, musing, woolgathering
Antonyms
alertness, attention, focus
Related words
Reverie vs daydream
A daydream is an imagined scenario — a pleasant fantasy about something desired or imagined. Reverie is less directed: it's the state of being gently absorbed in one's own thoughts, which may not involve a particular scenario at all. You have a daydream about a vacation; you fall into a reverie while staring out the window. Daydreaming is active; reverie is a state that happens to you.
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Adult smiling at a dry joke
A close-up of an adult's face as a small, subtle smile appears while they deliver a clever, dry joke.
The subtle smile and focused gaze indicate a mind momentarily drifting into its own internal playfulness, capturing the state of being pleasantly lost in a private, imaginative space.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration