Utopia

[ yoo-toh-pee-uh ]

/ yuˈtoʊ pi ə /

Save This Word!

noun

an imaginary island described in Sir Thomas More's Utopia (1516) as enjoying perfection in law, politics, etc.

(usually lowercase) an ideal place or state.

(usually lowercase) any visionary system of political or social perfection.

COMPARE COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS

These are smilar words, and share related meanings, but their uses are very different. Click on the buttons to learn more about these commonly confused words.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of Utopia

<New Latin (1516) <Greek ou not + tóp(os) a place + -ia-y³

Words nearby Utopia

uti possidetis, utmost, utmost good faith, Utnapishtim, Uto-Aztecan, Utopia, Utopian, utopianism, utopian socialism, Utopia Planitia, utopism

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use Utopia in a sentence

Produced by Lot 17, Utopia highlights the story of Jaime Hill, a former Olympic-level gymnast turned professional mountain biker.
Olympic-Level Gymnast Turned Mountain-Bike Athlete|Outside Editors|March 24, 2021|Outside Online
And the capital city is a veritable utopia of acceptance and integration.
The Ultimate LGBT Travel Bucket List||December 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh is building a tech utopia out of the rubble of downtown Las Vegas.
A Tech Millionaire Bets on the Urban Revival of Downtown Las Vegas|Sarah Kunst|January 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Founded as a utopia where possessions, childcare, and love were communal, traditional family structures were banned.
Surviving Life in a ‘70s Sex Commune|Nico Hines|December 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST

He was so disappointed with communism that he decided that the Khomeini utopia was the right one!
The Politics of Literature: An interview with Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa|Michael Moynihan|October 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Utopia for Beginners Joshua Foer, The New Yorker An amateur linguist loses control of the language he invented.
The Week’s Best Longreads: The Daily Beast Picks December 22, 2012|David Sessions|December 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Their dominion was an Utopia; and had it been possible to shut out every European and every wild Indian, it might have lasted.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil|Maria Graham
Within a few hours friendly relations had been established between the natives and the readers of Utopia.
Mushroom Town|Oliver Onions
He was on a planet that seemed, at first glance, to be a utopia.
The Status Civilization|Robert Sheckley
More actually wrote to Warham and to another friend that the Utopia had been printed without his knowledge.
The Age of Erasmus|P. S. Allen
Utopia I know is very rich in splendid scenery, but unfortunately it partakes much of the nature of the mirage.
The Sheepfold and the Common, Vol. II (of 2)|Timothy East

British Dictionary definitions for Utopia

Utopia

/ (juːˈtəʊpɪə) /

noun

(sometimes not capital) any real or imaginary society, place, state, etc, considered to be perfect or ideal

Word Origin for Utopia

C16: from New Latin Utopia (coined by Sir Thomas More in 1516 as the title of his book that described an imaginary island representing the perfect society), literally: no place, from Greek ou not + topos a place

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

Cultural definitions for Utopia

Utopia

(1516) A book by Sir Thomas More that describes an imaginary ideal society free of poverty and suffering. The expression utopia is coined from Greek words and means “no place.”

notes for Utopia

By extension, a “utopia” is any ideal state.