idealization

American  

[ahy-dee-uh-luh-zey-shuhn] / aɪˌdi ə ləˈzeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of idealizing something.

2. Psychoanalysis. a mental mechanism, operating consciously or unconsciously, in which one person overestimates an admired attribute of another.

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idealization British  

/ aɪˌdɪəlaɪˈzeɪʃən /

noun

1. the representation of something as ideal

2. a conception of something that dwells on its advantages and ignores its deficiencies

3. a general theoretical account of natural phenomena that ignores features that are difficult to accommodate within a theory

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Etymology

Origin of idealization

First recorded in 1790–1800; idealize + -ation

Example Sentences

“There was an idealization and simplification of the problem that started in the economics literature,” said Robert Kopp, a climate scientist at Rutgers University.

From New York Times • Aug. 25, 2022

That shared soil—this idealization of an imaginary past with greater freedom—creates a way for members and even some entire units to move across this spectrum.

From Scientific American • Jun. 16, 2022

But no matter: idealization is a privilege, and all the more so compared to invisibility.

From Salon • Oct. 10, 2021

She notes that isolation is in our national DNA, going back to the idealization of lonesome cowboys in old Western movies.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 13, 2021

And while her soul was thus expanding under the influence of this poetic idealization of a manly figure revealed to her only for two or three hours, all unconsciously she patterned her movements upon his.

From A Book About the Theater by Matthews, Brander