idealize

American  

[ahy-dee-uh-lahyz] / aɪˈdi əˌlaɪz /

especially British, idealise

verb (used with object)

• idealizes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• idealized,
  past participle,  past
• idealizing
  present participle

1. to make ideal; represent in an ideal form or character; exalt to an ideal perfection or excellence.

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verb (used without object)

• idealizes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• idealized,
  past participle,  past
• idealizing
  present participle

1. to represent something in an ideal form.

idealize British  

/ aɪˈdɪəˌlaɪz /

verb

1. to consider or represent (something) as ideal

2. (tr) to portray as ideal; glorify

3. (intr) to form an ideal or ideals

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• idealizer
  noun
• overidealize
  verb
• unidealized
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• idealizing
  present
• idealized
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• idealize
  simple
• idealizes
  simple
• have idealized
  perfect
• has idealized
  perfect
• am idealizing
  progressive
• are idealizing
  progressive
• is idealizing
  progressive
• have been idealizing
  perfect progressive
• has been idealizing
  perfect progressive

Past

• idealized
  simple
• had idealized
  perfect
• was idealizing
  progressive
• were idealizing
  progressive
• had been idealizing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will idealize
  simple
• will have idealized
  perfect
• will be idealizing
  progressive
• will have been idealizing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of idealize

First recorded in 1780–90; ideal + -ize

Explanation

When you idealize something, you think of it as being much better than it really is. You might idealize your beach vacation, completely forgetting that it rained almost every day. If you idealize your favorite teacher, you imagine that he's even more wonderful than he actually is. Many people tend to idealize marriage, believing that simply being married will make them and their partners blissfully happy all the time. To idealize is to take an ordinary, flawed thing, and turn it into something ideal. In fact, ideal, or "perfect," is at the heart of idealize, with its root of the Latin idealis, or "existing in idea."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

idealize idealizes idealized idealizing

A number of Googlers I spoke with framed January’s job cuts—which took place via email—as a wake-up call for Googlers who still idealize their employer.

From Slate ● Feb. 9, 2023

“I think that a lot of people almost idealize our jobs,” said Kim Yutani, director of programming for the Sundance Film Festival.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 20, 2023

“I am going to speak out against those who praise fascist murderers and idealize extremists. I am going to speak out against Holocaust deniers. I’m going to call those out who won’t do it.”

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 12, 2023

Haynes respects the art too much to idealize the artists, or to impose retrospective harmony on their dissonances.

From New York Times ● Oct. 14, 2021

At first Fernanda did not talk about her family, but in time she began to idealize her father.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

If Disneyland idealizes American stories and Western takes on classic fairy tales, then a trip to the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank grounds them in a bit more reality.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2024

Called "splitting," Behr defined this as "the person devalues and idealizes you or others."

From Salon ● Jan. 26, 2023

Because he was the only straight, cis man I ever dated, she idealizes him.

From Slate ● Jan. 7, 2021

Unlike the critic George Saintsbury, who looked to 18th-century literature for “repose and refreshment,” Damrosch never idealizes or whitewashes.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 17, 2019

Just as he idealizes Caroline, he paints the Loyers as the perfect mother and daughter.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman

His recessive Hig needs more charisma so we can care about him as a character, not just an idealized hero.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

Worried about its future and often nostalgic for an idealized past, it's fair to say that much of America saw itself in Dolly Parton.

From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026

The concept is illustrated by the Carnot cycle, an idealized model that defines the maximum theoretical efficiency of a heat engine by carefully regulating the movement of heat between hot and cold regions.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026

Chief Executive Hillary Super is leading a push for a more inclusive and comfortable brand image, moving away from past idealized beauty.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026

Former president Harry Truman, idealized by many blacks for integrating the military, may have been more decisive than his successor, but his stand on the lunch-counter protests didn’t please blacks.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

“They start idealizing their old culture; suddenly things seem much nicer than when they lived at home,” she said.

From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026

This verdict is in keeping with the tenor of the last 50 years of classical scholarship, which has moved past—perhaps too far past—any idealizing visions of Pericles and Athens.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026

As Eloise gets pulled more into Sandie’s life, things get progressively darker, and the film becomes a cautionary tale about the dangers of idealizing a time and place, and about female rage.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 26, 2021

Nor should any of this be read as idealizing the military.

From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2020

Also, Theo thinks, Vincent is too focused on Mauve and is idealizing him, as he is wont to do with people.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman

Related Words

• glorify