idealist

[ahy-dee-uh-list]

noun

1. a person who cherishes or pursues high or noble principles, purposes, goals, etc.

   Synonyms: utopianist, visionary, reformer, perfectionist, optimist
   Antonyms: cynic, skeptic, pragmatist

2. a visionary or impractical person.

   Synonyms: stargazer, dreamer, romanticist, romantic
   Antonyms: materialist, realist

3. 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.

4. a writer or artist who treats subjects imaginatively.

5. 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

1. of or relating to idealism or idealists; idealistic.

Other Word Forms

• anti-idealist noun
• hyperidealist noun
• superidealist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of idealist¹

First recorded in 1695–1705; ideal + -ist

Related Words

• dreamer 
• optimist 
• visionary