Utopian
Americanadjective
-
of, relating to, or resembling Utopia, an idealized imaginary island described in Sir Thomas More's Utopia (1516).
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(usually lowercase) founded upon or involving idealized perfection.
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(usually lowercase) given to impractical or unrealistic schemes of such perfection.
- Synonyms:
- impracticable, impractical, idealistic, visionary
noun
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an inhabitant of Utopia.
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(usually lowercase) an ardent but impractical political or social reformer; visionary; idealist.
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of Utopian
First recorded in 1545–55; from New Latin Ūtopiānus; see origin at Utopia, -an
Explanation
If you're looking to relocate to a utopia, good luck! A utopia is an ideal society, and a scheme or vision for producing such a society can be called utopian. In 1516, the English philosopher Thomas More published Utopia, a book about an island nation with the perfect form of government. This novel gave us the adjective utopian, which can be used to describe plans for or works of fiction depicting ideal societies. Dystopian literature, by contrast, describes nightmarishly repressive worlds. It's ironic that More himself may have conceived of his Utopia as a dystopia, or at least a satire. The name of More's novel is anglicized Greek for "no place" — which makes a lot of sense if you think about it.
Vocabulary lists containing utopian
100 SAT Words Beginning with "U"
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47 Great Words from "The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao," by Junot Diaz
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The 15 Most Relevant Words from the Fifth Republican Presidential Debate (+5 more words of note)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Early on Matthew makes clear that this story won’t have the Utopian ending dreamed up by Bob and Sheryl.
From New York Times • Mar. 27, 2023
The Heirloom Collard Project — whose members include Seed Savers Exchange, Southern Exposure, Ujamaa and the Utopian Seed Project — hopes to persuade us to make room for a row.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 14, 2023
The Utopian Seed Project produced a beautiful zine called "Collards," a collection of collard-focused art, essays, history, poetry and recipes edited by Cynthia Greenlee.
From Salon • Jan. 27, 2023
“City of Quartz” is steeped in history; it begins with a visit to the lost colony of Llano, the short-lived Utopian settlement built in the Antelope Valley in 1914.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 26, 2022
He demonstrated that it was not merely arbitrary laws which opposed the Utopian happiness of all, but in part the niggardliness of nature; and in greater part the passions and sins of men themselves.
From Principles of Political Economy, Vol. II by Roscher, Wilhelm
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
