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
Sandra Oh’s Ji-Yoon Kim is frazzled, idealistic, and inclined to compromise as her stock rises at the university.
—
Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 10 Apr. 2026
Les' idealistic vision is to use this breakthrough for the good of humanity.
—Sarah Rodman, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Mar. 2026
Of funny, idealistic, scary-smart workaholics — coming up on three generations of them — who want to make things better by making things better.
—Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2026
Founder Mark Roberts has an infectious idealistic zeal and a great cascading beard.
—Adam Sachs, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for idealistic
Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 10 Apr. 2026
Les' idealistic vision is to use this breakthrough for the good of humanity.
—Sarah Rodman, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Mar. 2026
Of funny, idealistic, scary-smart workaholics — coming up on three generations of them — who want to make things better by making things better.
—Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2026
Founder Mark Roberts has an infectious idealistic zeal and a great cascading beard.
—Adam Sachs, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for idealistic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idealistic
Adjective
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Church depicted the high arch, which sits on land once owned by Thomas Jefferson, with scientific precision yet in a romantic, golden light.—
Sebastian Smee,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
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The news broke the hearts of passionate regulars, who had flocked to the restaurant for family milestones, business dinners, romantic evenings and girls’ nights out since 1999.—
Connie Ogle
May 2,
Miami Herald,
2 May 2026
Adjective
-
Scientists typically test candidates one by one, making large-scale discovery impractical.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Apr. 2026
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And it’s set in a snowy wintertime, which would have been impractical and expensive in live action, but pays all kinds of benefits in terms of staging and mood.—
Television Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Sagittarius is an idealist sign that can totally relate to this tale of enduring relationships.—
Lisa Stardust,
PEOPLE,
9 Jan. 2026
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The contact with and dependence on such support arguably also bolstered art’s worldliness and acted as an antidote to the petit bourgeois affinity for idealist mystification.—
Diedrich Diederichsen,
Artforum,
1 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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But whereas leftist thinkers starting with Marx saw the liberal ideal as totally discredited, a mere camouflage for capitalist power, Habermas kept faith with the utopian potential of liberalism.—
Adam Kirsch,
The Atlantic,
3 May 2026
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There’s a cognitive dissonance between the utopian hope and love in which a story is created, the gift economy for which it’s intended as a sort of sacred offering, and the materialist reality of publishing, with sales figures and publicity, et cetera.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Idealistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idealistic. Accessed 5 May. 2026.
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