Definition of UTOPIA

Did You Know?

In 1516, English humanist Sir Thomas More published a book titled Utopia. It compared social and economic conditions in Europe with those of an ideal society on an imaginary island located off the coast of the Americas. More wanted to imply that the perfect conditions on his fictional island could never really exist, so he called it Utopia, a name he created by combining the Greek words ou (meaning "no, not") and topos (meaning "place," a root used in our word topography). The earliest generic use of utopia was for an imaginary and indefinitely remote place. The current use of utopia, referring to an ideal place or society, was inspired by More's description of Utopia's perfection.

Examples of utopia in a Sentence

The town's founders wanted to create a Christian utopia. It's a nice place to live, but it's no Utopia.

Recent Examples on the Web

Earth wasn’t a completely pristine, luscious utopia before humans came along and life has always been a little dirty. — Rachael Lallensack, Smithsonian, "Here Are 12 Things You Might Miss in the Smithsonian’s New Fossil Hall," 7 June 2019 But once that work has begun, the newly powerful women don’t form a peaceful utopia of sisterhood and love. — Constance Grady, Vox, "How 3 feminist dystopias are trying to update The Handmaid’s Tale for today," 29 Aug. 2018 Has the triumvirate of irony/utopia/pornography in your work shifted with technology? — Vogue, "Radical Feminist Artist Renate Bertlmann Exhibits Dildos in Dresses at Her First Solo Show Stateside," 1 Apr. 2019 In 2032, society has reached a state of pacifist utopia. — Tasha Robinson, The Verge, "10 subversive, dark American futures to stream on July 4th," 4 July 2018 Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans, France Though an industrial complex, the Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans was designed to be a utopia nonetheless, a place of life, work and worship for employees of the facility and their families. — Jennifer Billock, Smithsonian, "Seven Planned Utopian Towns That You Can Visit Today," 23 May 2018 None of these places are utopias, and unlearning behavior is an ongoing struggle. — Ligaya Mishan, New York Times, "The Female Couples Remaking the Restaurant Industry," 16 May 2018 This year’s best design and urbanism books feature impeccable modern interiors and fantastical cityscapes, educational toys and landscape utopias, plus playgrounds, textiles, subway tiles, and road trips. — Curbed Staff, Curbed, "18 enticing new books on design, cities, and more," 14 Dec. 2018 As waves of refugees flee the socialist utopia, bad actors ranging from Vladimir Putin to Hezbollah are nosing around in the ruins of the Bolivarian republic. — Walter Russell Mead, WSJ, "The Return of James Monroe," 6 Aug. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'utopia.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.