as in romanticizing
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 idealizing
There’s no wishful thinking that our society will stop idealizing appearance, but framing and intrinsic motivation matter.
—
Alexa Mikhail, Flow Space, 8 Oct. 2025
There’s a fine line between being crystal clear and idealizing a situation.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 23 Sep. 2025
Alexa Mikhail, Flow Space, 8 Oct. 2025
There’s a fine line between being crystal clear and idealizing a situation.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 23 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idealizing
Verb
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That’s 14 years of dreaming, dissolving, romanticizing, escaping, and sometimes deceiving ourselves.—
Dossé-Via Trenou,
Refinery29,
19 Oct. 2025
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Consider romanticizing your morning routine or finding a balance between work and self-care.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Smith grew up idolizing him as a boy in Louisville.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
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Other pastors are cautioning against politicizing his death and warning against idolizing him over the gospel.—
Taylor Seely,
AZCentral.com,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The seasonal shift to cheaper winter-blend gasoline could help offset cost increases related to the refinery fire, softening the impact for drivers.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
7 Nov. 2025
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In what could be another sign of a softening labor market, October layoffs jumped 175% from a year ago to 153,074, the highest level since 2003, Challenger, Gray & Christmas said.—
Jessica Guynn,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Idealizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idealizing. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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