idealist
Americannoun
-
idealists
plural
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a person who cherishes or pursues high or noble principles, purposes, goals, etc.
- Synonyms:
- utopianist, visionary, reformer, perfectionist, optimist
- Antonyms:
- cynic, skeptic, pragmatist
-
a visionary or impractical person.
- Synonyms:
- stargazer, dreamer, romanticist, romantic
- Antonyms:
- materialist, realist
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a person who represents things as they might or should be rather than as they are.
My friend is an idealist, who somehow thinks that we always agree.
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a writer or artist who treats subjects imaginatively.
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a person who accepts the doctrines of philosophical idealism, as by representing things in an ideal form, or as they might or should be rather than as they are.
adjective
Pop Culture
—Idealist.org: a job-search website that connects people who want to work or volunteer their services with not-for-profit organizations.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of idealist
Explanation
An idealist is someone who envisions an ideal world rather than the real one. Some people consider idealists to be naive, impractical, and out of touch with reality. Idealists think that striving for perfection makes the world a better place. The main root of idealist is "ideal," which comes from the Latin word idea. As an idealist, you think everyone should act in the best interest of the group. Ideally, everyone would agree with you, but the unfortunate reality is that lots of people act solely in their own self-interest. Words that are related to idealist include "idealize," "idealism," and "ideally."
Vocabulary lists containing idealist
A Raisin in the Sun
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"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 20–25
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The Perks of Being a Wallflower
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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.
See Examples For:
But Veda is no idealist out to end wars or reject her parents’ materialism.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
“In Greg’s most optimistic, most idealist, most selfish version of the world, he would just write code on the most important thing,” Altman said in an interview.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
As a football idealist, Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has specific beliefs about how the game should be played - and the best way to win.
From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2025
I was always very much an idealist and was like, "Let's just try."
From Salon ● Dec. 25, 2024
In those days he was a headstrong idealist.
From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston
The quest for a stable global order has long beguiled idealists and realists alike.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Refn: We were both naive idealists and we both had an enormous amount of emotions within us that we were trying to find places to unleash.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
"There are Don Quixotes and Sanchos: idealists and pragmatists. Some may find the transparency of crystals fascinating, while others are interested in their smell and whether they're edible," García-Ruiz pointed out.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026
The idealists absolutely should push the realists ever further.
From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2025
He found all types: idealists, ambitious people, adventurers, those with social resentments, even common criminals.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
