utopian

adjective, often capitalized uto·pi·an \ yu̇-ˈtō-pē-ən \

Updated on: 27 Feb 2018

Definition of utopian

1 : of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a utopia; especially : having impossibly ideal conditions especially of social organization

2 : proposing or advocating impractically ideal social and political schemes

utopian idealists

3 : impossibly ideal : visionary

recognised the utopian nature of his hopes
—C. S. Kilby

4 : believing in, advocating, or having the characteristics of utopian socialism

utopian doctrines

utopian novels

Examples of utopian in a Sentence

a plan to revitalize the city's decaying downtown that proved to be overly ambitious and utopian

Recent Examples of utopian from the Web

Many avant-garde artists shared the revolution’s utopian ideals and rethought everything from art-school curricula to cigarette-box designs.

— susan delson, WSJ, "When Art Joined the Russian Revolution," 27 Oct. 2017
The collaborative, ongoing international public art project from Ilya and Emilia Kabakov is emblematic of their optimistic works of utopian dreams—a kind of refugee ship propelled by the winds of vividly-colored childhood dreams.

— roger catlin, Smithsonian, "This Former Soviet Art Duo Crafts Worlds of Whimsy and Delight," 18 Sep. 2017
But his dystopian scenario is, in many ways, utopian.

— stephen humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, "'Blade Runner 2049': Why some science fiction writers are tired of dystopias," 7 Oct. 2017
The months that followed, with George and Westbrook growing closer and the fit seeming more tailor-made by the day, have been nothing short of utopian for all involved.

— sam amick, USA TODAY, "Paul George: Thunder have 'proven everything' thus far, could offer long-term home," 25 Sep. 2017
Reds is a warning about the folly of utopian thinking and an inquiry into how Bolshevism went so spectacularly wrong.

— kyle smith, National Review, "Warren’s Beatty’s Russian Revolution," 30 Oct. 2017
The goal is to claim the overwhelmingly white states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, popular recruiting grounds, as their utopian territory.

— cydney adams, CBS News, "The deadly hate crime that shocked Portland," 27 Oct. 2017
Tartine Manufactory | San Francisco Tartine Manufactory comes across as the utopian cafeteria everyone should have right around the block.

— jeff gordinier, Esquire, "The Best New Restaurants in America 2017," 18 Oct. 2017
Together, their creative lives emphasized the fin de siècle modernities that were floating in the air over a century ago: early environmentalism; feminist emancipation; town planning schemes that were at once utopian and feudal.

— atlanta life, ajc, "How the Biltmore House came to be," 13 Oct. 2017

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

Did You Know?

In 1516 Thomas More published Utopia, a description of a fictional island in the Atlantic with an ideal society, in order to draw a sharp contrast with the disorderly political situation of his own time. He created the name from topos ("place") and ou, Greek for "no", since he was well aware that nowhere so perfect was likely to exist on earth. People have long dreamed of creating utopian communities; some of them have joined communes, societies where other idealists like themselves have chosen to live in a cooperative way according to certain principles. Not just communes but plans of all kinds have been labeled utopian by critics. But we can dream, can't we?