head-in-the-clouds
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Unrealistic, impractical, or dreamy: Describes a person who is not practical, is often lost in their own thoughts or fantasies, and is out of touch with everyday realities.
- Guided by whim and fancy: Acting based on sudden desires or imaginative ideas rather than logic or practical considerations.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- He's a bit head-in-the-clouds; he has great ideas but never thinks about how to make them work.
- Don't ask her to organize the budget; she's too head-in-the-clouds for such a detailed task.
- The head-in-the-clouds inventor spent years working on a machine that everyone else thought was impossible.
Advanced Usage
- Used attributively (before a noun): Often used directly before a noun to describe a person's character.
- We need a pragmatic leader, not a head-in-the-clouds visionary.
- Used predictively (after a linking verb like 'be', 'seem'): Commonly used after verbs like 'be' or 'seem'.
- She seems head-in-the-clouds, always dreaming about traveling the world instead of focusing on her studies.
Variants and Related Words
- Head in the clouds: This is the more common phrase from which the adjective is derived. It is often used in the expression "to have one's head in the clouds."
- Ever since he read that philosophy book, he's had his head in the clouds.
- Dreamy (adj): Tending to be lost in thought or fantasy.
- Impractical (adj): Not sensible, realistic, or useful.
Synonyms
- Dreamy
- Impractical
- Unrealistic
- Fanciful
- Visionary (can have a positive connotation, unlike which is often negative)
Related Phrases
- To have one's head in the clouds: To be out of touch with reality, to be daydreaming or not paying attention to practical matters.
- You need to get your head out of the clouds and start studying for your exams.
- Airy-fairy (adj, informal): Impractical and vague; not realistic.
- His plans are a bit too airy-fairy for my liking.
Related Idioms
- Build castles in the air: To create unrealistic plans or dreams.
- Stop building castles in the air and make a concrete plan.
- On cloud nine: To be extremely happy (different meaning, but shares the "cloud" imagery).
- She was on cloud nine after getting the promotion.
Adjective
- guided by whim and fancy
- flighty young girls