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
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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
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Recent Examples of idealist
Zoe G Phillips, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 May 2024
In each episode, Kaplan argues that although hubris, ambition, and hatred always lurk in the background, the knowledge of human imperfection and the limits of progress can liberate people to seek greater self-awareness and avoid idealist misadventures.
—Robert D. Kaplan, Foreign Affairs, 24 Oct. 2023
A. Wess Mitchell, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
John was an idealist, and that's what's appealing about him.
—Jordan Runtagh, People.com, 12 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for idealist
Adjective
The film’s first trailer released on Monday, featuring Adam Driver as an idealist architect up against Giancarlo Esposito as a pragmatist mayor.
—Zoe G Phillips, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 May 2024
In each episode, Kaplan argues that although hubris, ambition, and hatred always lurk in the background, the knowledge of human imperfection and the limits of progress can liberate people to seek greater self-awareness and avoid idealist misadventures.
—Robert D. Kaplan, Foreign Affairs, 24 Oct. 2023
Noun
For all his legendary realism, U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was an idealist who believed that the job of American diplomats was to eventually create a world federation.
—A. Wess Mitchell, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
John was an idealist, and that's what's appealing about him.
—Jordan Runtagh, People.com, 12 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for idealist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idealist
Adjective
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Research published in Journal of Personality in 2016 shows that, in romantic relationships, conditional approval (even when masked as praise) undermines relationship quality by threatening your sense of autonomy.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
15 June 2025
-
His romantic relationship with Capt. Batel (Melanie Scrofano) is a particularly great way to further explore dimensions of both characters.—
Christian Blauvelt,
IndieWire,
14 June 2025
Noun
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The chants outside the Islamic Republic embassy, the clatter of Persian tea glasses at gatherings of dissidents in our cramped government housing, the news of bombings and assassinations that stole friends and fellow dreamers.—
Nazanin Boniadi,
Time,
17 June 2025
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The gap between dreamers and achievers lives in daily discipline.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2025
Adjective
-
He’s joined by elder statesman Randall (Steve Carell), idealistic AI expert Jeff (Ramy Youssef) and the richest of them all: Ven (Cory Michael Smith), a clear Elon Musk analogue who rules over his social media empire with a cocky bravado.—
Dave Nemetz,
TVLine,
2 June 2025
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Among the interviewees is cultural commentator Naomi Klein, who explains how WikiLeaks grew out of an early, more idealistic incarnation of the internet, prior to the rise of social media, in which its primary purpose was to make information available to all, for free.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
22 May 2025
Adjective
-
Adding more throughput is unwieldy and impractical.—
Steve Banker,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2025
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Maison Irem Pearl Bow Shoe Charms While swapping standard nylon laces for pearl strands might be an impractical venture, clipping on two little pearl bows at your sneakers’ centers is an effortless maneuver that will pay dividends in sheer beauty.—
Stacia Datskovska,
Footwear News,
29 May 2025
Adjective
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All of this could lead to some wonderful utopian possibilities.—
John Blake,
CNN Money,
14 June 2025
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Some of the Family were virtuoso singers, others just filling in for a line or two at a time, but there was always that utopian tribal spirit.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
10 June 2025
Adjective
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Still, whatever his ideological misgivings or sense of being personally affronted, the mayor would be wise to listen to the City Council and add this ordinance to the police’s toolbox for keeping everyone safe.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
20 June 2025
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But while Red Scare proponents like Senator Joseph McCarthy and others linked homosexuality to communism, the campaign against LGBTQ Americans operated on distinct ideological grounds.—
Time,
Time,
20 June 2025
Adjective
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What sets Netflix Spain apart from most of the U.S. streamer’s international operations is its ambition, based not on quixotic dreams of grandeur but on the record-breaking first decade of generating key titles which perform well on home ground but break out spectacularly abroad.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
16 June 2025
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That’s a good question on many levels, especially since Walters (played by Charlie McCullagh) persuaded his wife, Carol (Evelyn Hoskins, in a dominant performance), and his best pal, Ron (Akron Watson), to fund and back his quixotic quest, despite its obvious risks to life and limb.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
11 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Idealist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idealist. Accessed 24 Jun. 2025.
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