utopian

1 of 2

adjective

uto·​pi·​an yu̇-ˈtō-pē-ən 

often capitalized

1

: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a utopia

especially : having impossibly ideal conditions especially of social organization

2

: proposing or advocating impractically ideal social and political schemes

utopian idealists

3

: impossibly ideal : visionary

recognised the utopian nature of his hopes

—C. S. Kilby

4

: believing in, advocating, or having the characteristics of utopian socialism

utopian doctrines

utopian novels

utopian

2 of 2

noun

1

: one who believes in the perfectibility of human society

2

: one who proposes or advocates utopian schemes

Did you know?

In 1516 Thomas More published Utopia, a description of a fictional island in the Atlantic with an ideal society, in order to draw a sharp contrast with the disorderly political situation of his own time. He created the name from topos ("place") and ou, Greek for "no", since he was well aware that nowhere so perfect was likely to exist on earth. People have long dreamed of creating utopian communities; some of them have joined communes, societies where other idealists like themselves have chosen to live in a cooperative way according to certain principles. Not just communes but plans of all kinds have been labeled utopian by critics. But we can dream, can't we?

Synonyms

Adjective

• idealist
• idealistic
• quixotic
• quixotical
• romantic
• starry
• starry-eyed
• visionary

Noun

• Don Quixote
• dreamer
• fantast
• idealist
• idealizer
• ideologue
• idealogue
• romantic
• romanticist
• visionary

Examples of utopian in a Sentence

Adjective

a plan to revitalize the city's decaying downtown that proved to be overly ambitious and utopian

Noun

in the 19th century utopians founded a number of short-lived socialist communities

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Ironically, such utopian expectations of falling health care costs had been spotted way back in the 1990s by my colleague Trevor Harris at Columbia. —Shivaram Rajgopal, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024

The sci-fi fantasy drama stars Adam Driver as Cesar Catilina, a visionary architect intent on saving a declining New York City by building a utopian future, dislodging the elite ruling class in the process. —Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Oct. 2024

Noun

In part because of its Bay Area orientation, the progress movement sometimes gets tagged as sci-fi utopians who are overly focused on frontier technological innovation. —Bryan Walsh, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018

Can a Woman Be a Genius? Many Edwardian progressives and utopians put their hopes in the exceptional individual who was able to overcome obstacles with a force of will. —JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1551, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

circa 1873, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing utopian

• utopian socialism