as in romantic
having or marked by a tendency to be guided more by ideals than by reality
an idealist attempt to make a go of a mom-and-pop hardware store on Main Street
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in dreamer
one whose conduct is guided more by the image of perfection than by the real world
an idealist sees the best in everyone, regardless of how they behave
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of idealist
Zoe G Phillips, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 May 2024
In each episode, Kaplan argues that although hubris, ambition, and hatred always lurk in the background, the knowledge of human imperfection and the limits of progress can liberate people to seek greater self-awareness and avoid idealist misadventures.
—Robert D. Kaplan, Foreign Affairs, 24 Oct. 2023
Bob Mondello, NPR, 2 Apr. 2025
The demographics have shifted from young idealists to seasoned veterans grappling with institutional weight and responsibility.
—Boaz Sobrado, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for idealist
Adjective
The film’s first trailer released on Monday, featuring Adam Driver as an idealist architect up against Giancarlo Esposito as a pragmatist mayor.
—Zoe G Phillips, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 May 2024
In each episode, Kaplan argues that although hubris, ambition, and hatred always lurk in the background, the knowledge of human imperfection and the limits of progress can liberate people to seek greater self-awareness and avoid idealist misadventures.
—Robert D. Kaplan, Foreign Affairs, 24 Oct. 2023
Noun
And the film ends, not with glory for its title idealist, but with chaos, and the president of the Senate smiling smugly to himself.
—Bob Mondello, NPR, 2 Apr. 2025
The demographics have shifted from young idealists to seasoned veterans grappling with institutional weight and responsibility.
—Boaz Sobrado, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for idealist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idealist
Adjective
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However, after Paul and Alex began a romantic relationship, the deal is put into question, while the billionaire's past and his intentions also came under doubt.—
Gabrielle Rockson,
People.com,
9 July 2025
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Moreover, in romantic relationships, those who self-distanced were more likely to problem-solve constructively and less likely to escalate conflicts.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
Noun
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The American project is a patchwork of dreamers and doers, saints and sinners, stitched together by the thread of promise that stretches across generations.—
F. Willis Johnson,
Twin Cities,
10 July 2025
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Every wreck, every ruin is the relic of a shriveled dream, lasting long after the body of its dreamer has been received back into the earth with love or remorse or indifference.—
Kimberlee Speakman,
People.com,
10 July 2025
Adjective
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Exhibiting an eclectic array of academic excellence, robust pursuit of agricultural and STEM innovations, and idealistic ambitions, they are headed to prestigious universities, including CalTech, Cornell, MIT, Northwestern, and Cal Poly.—
News Release,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
3 July 2025
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Bruckheimer also suggested that Denzel Washington, who played an idealistic executive officer locked in a heated battle for control of a nuclear submarine against Gene Hackman’s domineering commanding officer, might be convinced to take another trip beneath the waves.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
2 July 2025
Adjective
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Aside from being impractical, the new importation strategy would leave America’s drug supply vulnerable to dangerous counterfeit medicines from abroad.—
Sally C. Pipes,
The Orlando Sentinel,
11 July 2025
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However, for many travelers who take only one or two flights a year, that's impractical advice.—
Christopher Elliott,
USA Today,
11 July 2025
Adjective
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That all sounds very woolly and, in a way, utopian.—
Kevin Giraud,
Variety,
10 June 2025
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People always wanted more-more-more from Sly, based on the utopian promises of his songs.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
10 June 2025
Adjective
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Here, businesses can grow without the weight of government regulation or woke ideological agendas.—
Mike Dunleavy,
New York Daily News,
14 July 2025
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Advertisement Beyond religious and ideological attacks, 14.3% of posts contained nativist language calling for Mamdani's deportation or citizenship revocation.—
Juwayriah Wright,
Time,
9 July 2025
Adjective
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František, the more optimistic and quixotic of the two, has spent the last 20 years attempting to build a flying perpetuum machine — daydreamy compensation, perhaps, for having lost an arm in a sawmill accident decades before.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
11 July 2025
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Trump also hinted that a deal with Harvard was imminent, but some Harvard faculty worried about the terms of a prospective deal appearing to look like capitulation, while others worried that the university’s battle over purist principles of academic freedom was quixotic and too costly.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Time,
7 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Idealist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idealist. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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