Utopia

[yoo-toh-pee-uh]

noun

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

2. (usually lowercase),  an ideal place or state.

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

Utopia

/ juːˈtəʊpɪə /

noun

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

Utopia

1. (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.”

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Utopia¹

< New Latin (1516) < Greek ou not + tóp ( os ) a place + -ia -y ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of Utopia¹

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

Example Sentences

“A nearly eight-hour drama about the Russian intelligentsia that received mixed reviews when it premiered in London in 2002, ‘The Coast of Utopia’ isn’t for the theatrical faint of heart,” cautioned Times critic McNulty.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In 2002, his nine-hour trilogy “The Coast of Utopia” came to theaters, bringing three plays on three consecutive nights: “Voyage,” “Shipwreck and “Salvage.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The Coast of Utopia was a massive trilogy about the 19th Century Russian liberal thinker, Alexander Herzen: coolly received at the National Theatre in London, it was a huge success in New York.

Read more on BBC

Bregman, who is known for books including Humankind and Utopia for Realists, posted after his first lecture was broadcast on Tuesday, saying the BBC had "decided to censor" it.

Read more on BBC

Along the way, he’s collected a Tony for “The Coast of Utopia,” two Emmys for “The Morning Show” and a Screen Actors Guild award as part of the ensemble of “Spotlight.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bliss 
• paradise 

When To Use

What is Utopia?

Utopia is an ideal place or state, usually one that is unrealistic or unattainable. For example, if you love playing basketball and dislike studying, your utopia might be a place where everyone is supposed to play basketball all day and there is no school. Utopia, capitalized, is the name for a fictional island from Sir Thomas More’s story Utopia, which is said to be a perfect society. The book describes the society in detail, including laws, customs, and religion.Utopia is also any imagined perfect society or political system. It is often used when discussing politics and law to describe an unreachable goal or something that is overly visionary.Example: We don’t live in some utopia where everyone has access to clean water.