as in to romanticize
to represent or think of as better than reality would warrant
he had a tendency to idealize his heroes and believe they could do no wrong
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Recent Examples of idealize
California Adventure, at its most idealized, stood for more than an assortment of film properties.
—
Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2026
Many love songs idealize; here, John Prine and Iris DeMent sweetly rattle off a list of each other’s endearing imperfections.
—Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2026
The characters are mostly idealized, the action is predictable, and its core conflicts derivative of those in the minds of most American teenagers in the middle of the 20th century.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 12 Feb. 2026
Adolescence, as life phases go, is not especially easy to idealize.
—Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for idealize
Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2026
Many love songs idealize; here, John Prine and Iris DeMent sweetly rattle off a list of each other’s endearing imperfections.
—Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2026
The characters are mostly idealized, the action is predictable, and its core conflicts derivative of those in the minds of most American teenagers in the middle of the 20th century.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 12 Feb. 2026
Adolescence, as life phases go, is not especially easy to idealize.
—Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for idealize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idealize
Verb
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Chinamaxxing romanticizes things that feel structurally out of reach at home — compact, affordable-looking apartments; public transit that works; streets safe to walk at night; multigenerational households as an antidote to loneliness; communal meals as an antidote to atomization.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
19 Apr. 2026
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Dominic Smith is just another reason to romanticize baseball.—
Gabriel Burns,
AJC.com,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Towns grew up idolizing Magic Johnson.—
James L. Edwards III,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2026
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Growing up in Harlem, Quié idolized Gabriel, the son of sharecroppers and one of twenty kids.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The visual culture produced by Anduril to glamorize its unmanned rockets, submarines, and accompanying control software leverages a lot of Aeropittura’s potential.—
Simon Denny,
Artforum,
20 Apr. 2026
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The notebook glamorizes love as possession.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The decision reflected a common pattern in China's technology sector, where startups establish offshore corporate structures to access global capital and reassure foreign investors, and sometimes soften regulatory scrutiny while maintaining engineering talent and intellectual ties to the mainland.—
Dewardric L. McNeal,
CNBC,
28 Apr. 2026
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This cult Japanese skincare-meets-makeup hybrid is an ultra-fine powder to even out skin tone, soften the look of pores, and reduce shine, leaving a translucent finish with subtle coverage.—
Anita Bhagwandas,
Condé Nast Traveler,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Idealize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idealize. Accessed 30 Apr. 2026.
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