as in romantic
having or marked by a tendency to be guided more by ideals than by reality
idealistic pacifists who thought that tyranny could be toppled by rational argument and mutual understanding
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Recent Examples of idealistic
Where that show’s boss (played by Steve Carell) was a bit of an inappropriate fool, Gleeson’s character is more idealistic.
—
Michael Schneider, Variety, 4 Sep. 2025
The principles aren’t fluffy manifestos or idealistic dreams.
—Steve Denning, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
Newer companies promising noble causes, in contrast, are not tarnished—or less tarnished, at least—which also appeals to idealistic young workers.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2025
The kooky characters surrounding Judge Stone included the conceited prosecutor Dan Fielding (John Larroquette), the imposing bailiff Bull Shannon (Richard Moll), and the idealistic public defender Christine Sullivan (Markie Post), each of whom had various quirks of their own.
—Dan Heching, EW.com, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for idealistic
Michael Schneider, Variety, 4 Sep. 2025
The principles aren’t fluffy manifestos or idealistic dreams.
—Steve Denning, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
Newer companies promising noble causes, in contrast, are not tarnished—or less tarnished, at least—which also appeals to idealistic young workers.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2025
The kooky characters surrounding Judge Stone included the conceited prosecutor Dan Fielding (John Larroquette), the imposing bailiff Bull Shannon (Richard Moll), and the idealistic public defender Christine Sullivan (Markie Post), each of whom had various quirks of their own.
—Dan Heching, EW.com, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for idealistic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idealistic
Adjective
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In fact, today a friendship could turn romantic.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
30 Sep. 2025
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Cassie and another accuser, Jane, told jurors that Diddy brought them into his troubled world under the false auspices of a romantic relationship.—
Victoria Bekiempis,
Vulture,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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In vacuum and one-sixth gravity, lubricants boil off, moving parts behave differently, and remote or autonomous operation is necessary because of the time delay between Earth and Moon, which makes real-time teleoperation impractical.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Sep. 2025
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Unfortunately, some of these tests are impractical and risk causing real-world harm.—
Matthew Hutson,
IEEE Spectrum,
22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Wish-casting a better result for a confrontation in a different place, Vindman suppresses how much and how often America antagonized Russia through its idealist actions, rather than realist inaction.—
Samuel Moyn,
Harpers Magazine,
16 July 2025
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This, in turn, becomes logically reliant on the idealist paradigm of Consciousness as the fundamental lowest common denominator of reality.—
Carlo Tortora Brayda,
Forbes,
6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Ramírez planted the flag in the infield grass before Slider grabbed it, engaged with a sea of fans who didn’t want to abandon the utopian setting at the ballpark, and then handed it to David Fry.—
Zack Meisel,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
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At the same time, such a transition as implied by the current crisis necessitates and implies a coming organizational shift in society, but that could either result in a hideous fascism or in something genuinely utopian.—
Ed Simon
September 24,
Literary Hub,
24 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Many of Herzog’s films capture that sense of a quixotic, even bizarre quest, an antihero searching for some kind of truth that may be obvious only to himself.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
28 Sep. 2025
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His performance here most recalls his tragicomic portrayal of John Brown, the heroic but unhinged abolitionist whose quixotic raid on Harpers Ferry helped catalyze the Civil War, in Showtime’s 2020 adaptation of James McBride’s The Good Lord Bird.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
23 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Idealistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idealistic. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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