idealism

[ahy-dee-uh-liz-uh m]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR idealism ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

the practice of idealizing.

something idealized; an ideal representation.

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.Compare naturalism(def 2), realism(def 3a).

Philosophy.

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.
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.

Origin of idealism

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

Related formsan·ti-i·de·al·ism, nouno·ver·i·de·al·ism, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for idealism

Contemporary Examples of idealism

Both followed wars; people were tired of idealism and self-sacrifice and were determined to enjoy a self- indulgent materialism.
How Rock and Roll Killed Jim Crow
Dennis McNally
October 26, 2014
TR reinvigorated the office after a succession of grey presidents with his unself-conscious energy, idealism and determination.
From The Square Deal to The New Deal: The Overlapping Political Identities of TR and FDR
John Avlon
September 9, 2014
For Moses, the idealism of Freedom Summer was inseparable from the practical task of making it work.
The 1964 Miss. Freedom Summer Protests Won Progress At a Bloody Price
Nicolaus Mills
June 21, 2014
Today, we still believe that wisdom in politics above all counsels realism as to means and idealism as to ends.
How Obamacare Delays Are Hastening Despotism
James Poulos
March 28, 2014
When you confuse it with ethics or idealism, then you get into murky territory.
Beau Willimon on Most Shocking Twists in ‘House of Cards’ Season 2
Andrew Romano
February 15, 2014

Historical Examples of idealism

All Americans have witnessed this idealism, and some for the first time.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
Idealism was not very popular, he said, but thank God he was an idealist.
The Foolish Lovers
St. John G. Ervine
From the very beginning, the American people have been characterized by idealism.
The American Mind
Bliss Perry
But this romanticism is, as it were, a segment of the larger circle of idealism.
The American Mind
Bliss Perry
The characteristic attitude of the American mind, as we have seen, is one of idealism.
The American Mind
Bliss Perry

British Dictionary definitions for idealism

idealism

noun

belief in or pursuance of ideals

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

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 ideasCompare materialism (def. 2), dualism (def. 2)

Derived Formsidealist, nounidealistic, adjectiveidealistically, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for idealism

1796, in the abstract sense, originally "belief that reality is made up only of ideas," from ideal (adj.) + -ism; on model of French idéalisme. Meaning "representing things in an ideal form" is from 1829.

Culture definitions for idealism

idealism

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.