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unrealistic expectation

unrealistic expectation

8 4.6
A belief about the future that is not likely to happen
  • noun
  • /ˌʌnriˈælɪstɪk ˌɛkspɛkˈteɪʃən/
translation icon : expectativa irrealista
  • Many students have unrealistic expectations about how quickly they can learn a new language.
  • sometimes have unrealistic expectations
  • unrealistic expectations create
  • often have unrealistic expectations

So don't have unrealistic expectations about bad people.

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Examples

  • One of the issues arises from unrealistic expectations of non-specialists in the field.

    Academic text (2010)
  • One of the dangers is that people go into the experience with unrealistic expectations for cure.

  • But I know people, they have unrealistic expectations of other people.

  • Most important, however, seems to have been unrealistic expectations for the region itself.

    Academic text (1992)
  • One thing I noticed really recently, still unrealistic expectations of myself and other people.

  • I quit reading Christian romance novels years ago due to unrealistic expectations for my husband.

    Blog text (13)
  • Because you see, folks, unrealistic expectations are the seedbed of depression.

  • In an increasingly crowded world, we have to take great care not to engender unrealistic expectations.

    Academic text (1993)
  • For the adolescent individual, an example of incongruence would be when parents place unrealistic expectations on their children.

    Academic text (2005)
  • Patients may have unrealistic expectations of being "cured" by an experimental treatment or might fear experiencing harm.

    Academic text (2001)

Synonyms

wishful thinking
vsunrealistic expectation
  • Informal
45 4.1

Believing something you want will happen even though it is unlikely

is a belief about future outcomes that is not practical or likely to happen
pipe dream
vsunrealistic expectation
  • Informal
23 6.8

A hope or plan that is not likely to happen

is a belief about the future that is not practical or likely to happen
pie in the sky
vsunrealistic expectation
  • Informal
10 7.5

An idea or plan that is unlikely to happen

is a belief about future outcomes that is not practical or likely to happen
impossible dream
vsunrealistic expectation
4 6.8

A hope for something you cannot achieve

is a belief about what will happen that is not practical or likely

How Realistic

certainty
  • Literature
202 3.4
unrealistic expectation
8 4.6
pipe dream
  • Informal
23 6.8

Surface Forms

Morphology

unrealistic + expectation

The phrase's meaning is directly compositional: 'unrealistic' (= not realistic) modifies 'expectation' (= a belief about the future), yielding an expectation that is not reasonable or likely. This straightforward negation + noun structure is common cross-linguistically and would be immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.

Etymology

Unrealistic expectation breaks into unrealistic ('not real') and expectation ('what you expect'), and it creates the image of hoping for something impossible, like trying to fly without wings. That's why it means 'an expectation that is not practical or likely to happen'.