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.
QUIZZES
QUIZ YOURSELF ON “THEIR,” “THERE,” AND “THEY’RE”
Are you aware how often people swap around “their,” “there,” and “they’re”? Prove you have more than a fair grasp over these commonly confused words.
Question 1 of 7
Which one of these commonly confused words can act as an adverb or a pronoun?
Origin of Utopia
Words nearby Utopia
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for Utopia
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.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.