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
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
Big Think, 6 Nov. 2025
And the call isn’t just coming from idealists this time – the prestigious science journal Nature is also now arguing for a global rail revival – not as a nostalgic nod to the past, but as a pragmatic cornerstone of climate strategy.
—Chelsea Haney
october 25, New Atlas, 25 Oct. 2025
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
Some idealists set out to build a new community from scratch.
—Big Think, 6 Nov. 2025
And the call isn’t just coming from idealists this time – the prestigious science journal Nature is also now arguing for a global rail revival – not as a nostalgic nod to the past, but as a pragmatic cornerstone of climate strategy.
—Chelsea Haney
october 25, New Atlas, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for idealist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idealist
Adjective
-
Here for a romantic getaway, my husband and I stayed in the luxurious Kalinago king suite overlooking the ocean, with a private patio perfect for just-the-two-of-us lounging.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
15 Feb. 2026
-
On Saturday night, Rihanna and boyfriend A$AP Rocky celebrated Valentine’s Day with a romantic dinner at Caviar Russe, a Michelin star seafood restaurant in New York City.—
Kelsey Stewart,
Footwear News,
15 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
But today there’s something refreshingly unusual about electronic music so unabashedly idealistic, something that declines to submit to reality and instead goes searching for some far-off nirvana, finding connections to other dreamers on the way.—
Alex Robert Ross,
Pitchfork,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Their journeys to the Olympics are more than anything immigrant stories, the odysseys of two families of dreamers who settled in the South Bay, Chloe Kim’s family in Torrance, Bea Kim’s on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.—
Scott M. Reid,
Oc Register,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Needy Venus snubs Jupiter, activating your homey 4th house and your idealistic 9th house.—
Tarot.com,
Sun Sentinel,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Yet his passion became a rare species of idealistic extremism.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Along with complaints about the building’s size, the Geffen Galleries’ heavy use of concrete had been criticized as an impractical choice for hanging art.—
Malia Mendez,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Erdoğan’s speeches are full of practical advice about how to destroy the left, such as calling progressives lazy, impractical alcoholics funded by globalist lobbies and contrasting the efficiency of an imperial president with the messiness of parliamentary policymaking.—
Kaya Genç,
The Dial,
3 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The film’s early images — lush fairways, orderly golf course rituals, bodies moving through a dewy, manicured world of leisure — project an intoxicating, utopian calm.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Feb. 2026
-
The album’s bookends are fittingly utopian.—
Alex Robert Ross,
Pitchfork,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Idealist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idealist. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
