idealism

[ahy-dee-uh-liz-uhm]

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.

idealism

/ 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

idealism

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.

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of idealism¹

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

Example Sentences

Charlie left Amherst College after his freshman year to volunteer for Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign, and, though he eventually returned, he remained far more interested in his own idealism than in making money.

Read more on Literature

Mr. Kurlansky has nevertheless produced an enlightening and entertaining portrait of a community that deserves to be better remembered and understood, and that embodied, within its limitations, the best kind of American idealism.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Those who had marched off to war with youthful idealism and energy return home calloused, maybe wiser, but cynical.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The Lincoln Lawyer may have embraced a higher idealism, but he hasn’t abandoned his cutthroat tactics.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He represents the idealism of a walk-on, which is a fresh face coming out and being the heartbeat of a team.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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