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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 idealistic
Yet in many ways, indie still lives—and represents an idealistic approach to art and culture that’s well worth preserving.
—
Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 29 Aug. 2025
The kooky characters surrounding Judge Stone included the conceited prosecutor Dan Fielding (John Larroquette), the imposing bailiff Bull Shannon (Richard Moll), and the idealistic public defender Christine Sullivan (Markie Post), each of whom had various quirks of their own.
—Dan Heching, EW.com, 28 Aug. 2025
The Plowshare Project dreamt up idealistic, peacetime applications, such as reversing the course of rivers, triggering small earthquakes to prevent large ones from forming, flooding desserts, and, above all, snaking out a Central American canal with fewer vulnerabilities.
—Shoshi Parks, Popular Science, 14 Aug. 2025
Young lawyers and career government lawyers are often idealistic, willing to sacrifice personal gain for the public good, but the prospect of working for this attorney general might seem the worst sort of dead-end job — one requiring blind obedience to unworthy goals.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for idealistic
Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 29 Aug. 2025
The kooky characters surrounding Judge Stone included the conceited prosecutor Dan Fielding (John Larroquette), the imposing bailiff Bull Shannon (Richard Moll), and the idealistic public defender Christine Sullivan (Markie Post), each of whom had various quirks of their own.
—Dan Heching, EW.com, 28 Aug. 2025
The Plowshare Project dreamt up idealistic, peacetime applications, such as reversing the course of rivers, triggering small earthquakes to prevent large ones from forming, flooding desserts, and, above all, snaking out a Central American canal with fewer vulnerabilities.
—Shoshi Parks, Popular Science, 14 Aug. 2025
Young lawyers and career government lawyers are often idealistic, willing to sacrifice personal gain for the public good, but the prospect of working for this attorney general might seem the worst sort of dead-end job — one requiring blind obedience to unworthy goals.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for idealistic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idealistic
Adjective
-
His most recent work was 2023's Coup de Chance, a French romantic thriller that marked his 50th feature film and premiered at the Venice International Film Festival.—
Mekishana Pierre,
EW.com,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Fresh off a romantic vacation in Mallorca, the Friends starlet was seen in Los Angeles sporting a basic grey tank top tucked into a pair of light-wash, wide-leg jeans—a late ‘90s look that Rachel Green definitely would have worn herself.—
Olivia Young,
Travel + Leisure,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
But, because mange often accompanies secondary infections and nutritional imbalances, treatment in the wild is impractical, making the work at Walden's Puddle and other rehabilitation facilities all the more important, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Communications Manager Jason Harmon said.—
Katie Nixon,
Nashville Tennessean,
5 Sep. 2025
-
The internet faced ridicule for its impractical nature during its initial development phase.—
Sadhasivam Mohanadas,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Wish-casting a better result for a confrontation in a different place, Vindman suppresses how much and how often America antagonized Russia through its idealist actions, rather than realist inaction.—
Samuel Moyn,
Harpers Magazine,
16 July 2025
-
This, in turn, becomes logically reliant on the idealist paradigm of Consciousness as the fundamental lowest common denominator of reality.—
Carlo Tortora Brayda,
Forbes,
6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
But to envision Mars as some sort of utopian substitute for Earth is truly delusional.—
Jon Allsop,
New Yorker,
29 Aug. 2025
-
The cottage retains its utopian squalor.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
There’s a quixotic gallantry to appealing to a saner conservative and looking ahead to a post-Trump American politics.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
14 Aug. 2025
-
But Cruz’s quixotic effort did succeed in a couple of ways.—
David M. Drucker,
Mercury News,
12 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Idealistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idealistic. Accessed 7 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share