Utopian
Americanadjective
-
of, relating to, or resembling Utopia, an idealized imaginary island described in Sir Thomas More's Utopia (1516).
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(usually lowercase) founded upon or involving idealized perfection.
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(usually lowercase) given to impractical or unrealistic schemes of such perfection.
- Synonyms:
- impracticable, impractical, idealistic, visionary
noun
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an inhabitant of Utopia.
-
(usually lowercase) an ardent but impractical political or social reformer; visionary; idealist.
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of Utopian
First recorded in 1545–55; from New Latin Ūtopiānus; see origin at Utopia, -an
Explanation
If you're looking to relocate to a utopia, good luck! A utopia is an ideal society, and a scheme or vision for producing such a society can be called utopian. In 1516, the English philosopher Thomas More published Utopia, a book about an island nation with the perfect form of government. This novel gave us the adjective utopian, which can be used to describe plans for or works of fiction depicting ideal societies. Dystopian literature, by contrast, describes nightmarishly repressive worlds. It's ironic that More himself may have conceived of his Utopia as a dystopia, or at least a satire. The name of More's novel is anglicized Greek for "no place" — which makes a lot of sense if you think about it.
Vocabulary lists containing utopian
100 SAT Words Beginning with "U"
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47 Great Words from "The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao," by Junot Diaz
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The 15 Most Relevant Words from the Fifth Republican Presidential Debate (+5 more words of note)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Former employees paint a picture of a Utopian work environment where co-workers believed wholeheartedly in Bitwise’s mission — making the company’s abrupt downfall feel all the more like a betrayal.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 14, 2023
The Heirloom Collard Project — whose members include Seed Savers Exchange, Southern Exposure, Ujamaa and the Utopian Seed Project — hopes to persuade us to make room for a row.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 14, 2023
And it turns out that the Utopian Seed Project created a new "variety" called Ultracross Collards, which Chris Smith says are his new favorite.
From Salon • Jan. 27, 2023
Starring Joel Edgerton, Quintessa Swindell and Sigourney Weaver, it is a classic Schrader joint: an austere, beautiful, romantic, wordy, implausible and touchingly Utopian story of love, loneliness, violence and redemption.
From New York Times • Oct. 5, 2022
The time will certainly come when the realization of such an ingenious idea would no longer be held Utopian.
From The Hindoos as they Are A Description of the Manners, Customs and the Inner Life of Hindoo Society in Bengal by Bose, Shib Chunder
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
