idealism

American  

[ahy-dee-uh-liz-uhm] / aɪˈdi əˌlɪz əm /

noun

1. the cherishing or pursuit of high or noble principles, purposes, goals, etc.

2. the practice of idealizing.

3. something idealized; an ideal representation.

4. Fine Arts. treatment of subject matter in a work of art in which a mental conception of beauty or form is stressed, characterized usually by the selection of particular features of various models and their combination into a whole according to a standard of perfection.

5. Philosophy.

   1. any system or theory that maintains that the real is of the nature of thought or that the object of external perception consists of ideas.

   2. the tendency to represent things in an ideal form, or as they might or should be rather than as they are, with emphasis on values.

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idealism British  

/ aɪˈdɪəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. belief in or pursuance of ideals

2. the tendency to represent things in their ideal forms, rather than as they are

3. any of a group of philosophical doctrines that share the monistic view that material objects and the external world do not exist in reality independently of the human mind but are variously creations of the mind or constructs of ideas Compare materialism dualism

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idealism Cultural  

1. An approach to philosophy that regards mind, spirit, or ideas as the most fundamental kinds of reality, or at least as governing our experience of the ordinary objects in the world. Idealism is opposed to materialism, naturalism, and realism. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was an idealist; so was Immanuel Kant.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• overidealism
  noun
• idealist
  noun
• anti-idealism
  noun
• idealistic
  adjective
• idealistically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of idealism

First recorded in 1790–1800; ideal + -ism, probably modeled on German Idealismus

Explanation

Idealism, as "noble-mindedness," is the belief that we should always strive for our highest ideals. Sometimes, though, idealism is a sort of incurable optimism. It's one thing if you always pursue high-minded goals and right conduct — one definition of idealism. Just be careful to not get so caught up that you fail to see things as they really are — you don't want to go through life "wearing rose-colored glasses" — yet another definition of idealism. In philosophy, idealism is the theory that ideas are the only reality.

Example Sentences

Idealism and a sense of purpose were essential to balancing the gravity of their mission, and humility tempered the power dynamic inherent in law enforcement work.

From Salon • Jul. 18, 2025

Idealism is not a standard requirement for campaign combat.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2024

Idealism and realism coexist as the show’s denizens raise a glass “to the world we dream about, and the one we live in now.”

From Seattle Times • Nov. 1, 2023

So host Charles Duhigg asks Larissa MacFarquhar, author of Strangers Drowning: Impossible Idealism, Drastic Choices, and the Urge to Help, a book about extreme altruists, to explain how people decide to do good.

From Slate • Jan. 2, 2020

But when Emerson appeared, the name of Idealism was legion.

From Transcendentalism in New England A History by Frothingham, Octavius Brooks

Related Words

• accomplishment
• evolution
• excellence
• fulfillment
• ideal
• integrity
• precision
• purity
• quality
• superiority
• supremacy
• transcendence
• virtue