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
Relevance
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of idealist
Gordon G. Chang,
Newsweek,
3 Mar. 2025
In the new release, Temple plays idealist scientist Dr. Teddy Paine opposite Chiwetel Ejiofor’s General Rex Strickland — the overseer of a secret research facility dedicated to symbiotes.
—
Raven Brunner,
People.com,
25 Oct. 2024
Literary Hub,
20 Mar. 2026
While Sophie has a pragmatic approach to life, she’s complemented by Benedict, a dreamy idealist.
—
Kat Moon,
Time,
29 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for idealist
Adjective
Labour leader Starmer, though, has taken a realist rather than an idealist approach to the president, putting Britain's foreign policy interests above the strong opposition to Trump in the rank and file of his own party.
—
Gordon G. Chang,
Newsweek,
3 Mar. 2025
In the new release, Temple plays idealist scientist Dr. Teddy Paine opposite Chiwetel Ejiofor’s General Rex Strickland — the overseer of a secret research facility dedicated to symbiotes.
—
Raven Brunner,
People.com,
25 Oct. 2024
Noun
Gorton skillfully depicts the grueling decades-long struggle of Sanger (the icon, in this telling) and Dennett (the idealist) to make birth control available and legal, as well as their interpersonal competition for power and influence.
—
Literary Hub,
20 Mar. 2026
While Sophie has a pragmatic approach to life, she’s complemented by Benedict, a dreamy idealist.
—
Kat Moon,
Time,
29 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for idealist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idealist
Adjective
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Baldet didn’t arrive in hospitality with a romantic attachment to restaurants, but a model, a thesis and enough self-awareness to realise neither would survive contact with the floor unchanged.
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Prior to this, the two denied romantic interest both publicly and in private conversations.
Noun
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For generations, Chicago has thrived because dreamers could make it here with little to their name and make something of themselves, and the bus is a prime way to do so.
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Before her death in 1993, Mabel McKay — one of the last living dreamers of the Pomo Indian people — shared a prophecy while driving through the Sonoma hills.
Adjective
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Chan stars as idealistic rookie officer Shih-Ting, while veteran actor Cheng portrays Hou, a pragmatic policeman approaching retirement.
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The first stretch of the film centers on co-founder Ilya Sutskever (Yura Borisov), the idealistic scientific mind behind the company, before the boardroom power struggle takes over.
Adjective
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The firm at one earlier point had reportedly offered a service to screen against low intelligence in human embryos, which is a highly controversial and perhaps impractical idea.
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Pretty, functional storage solutions are the perfect antidote to impractical minimalism.
Adjective
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On this basis, the utopian concept of planetary defense could also turn into a celestial version of the Cold War—or worse.
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There’s this almost utopian small-town feel to it.
Cite this Entry
“Idealist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idealist. Accessed 30 Jun. 2026.
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