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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of idealistic
Major felonies committed for idealistic reasons have happened before, and in some cases the perpetrators’ motives have affected the way these cases were handled.
—
Roberto Loiederman, Baltimore Sun, 11 Jan. 2025
And in the early, idealistic years of the folk revival, Yarrow, Noel Paul Stookey and Mary Travers (who died in 2009) strummed and harmonized their way toward that conscientious balance of folk and pop.
—Jon Pareles, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2025
Though there is variation depending on the locale, on the whole, the color-happy interiors in the show are closer to the idealistic vision of homes displayed in the era’s advertisements.
—Rachel Davies, Architectural Digest, 24 Dec. 2024
No matter how heinous the actions of the protesters, they have been framed as coming from idealistic students expressing genuine humanitarian concern for the people of Gaza, and as mere criticism of Israel.
—The Editors, National Review, 24 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for idealistic 
Roberto Loiederman, Baltimore Sun, 11 Jan. 2025
And in the early, idealistic years of the folk revival, Yarrow, Noel Paul Stookey and Mary Travers (who died in 2009) strummed and harmonized their way toward that conscientious balance of folk and pop.
—Jon Pareles, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2025
Though there is variation depending on the locale, on the whole, the color-happy interiors in the show are closer to the idealistic vision of homes displayed in the era’s advertisements.
—Rachel Davies, Architectural Digest, 24 Dec. 2024
No matter how heinous the actions of the protesters, they have been framed as coming from idealistic students expressing genuine humanitarian concern for the people of Gaza, and as mere criticism of Israel.
—The Editors, National Review, 24 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for idealistic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idealistic
Adjective
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Ending on a romantic note The resilient mood came with messages of hope from several designers who used their moment to encourage togetherness.—
Scarlett Conlon,
CNN,
22 Jan. 2025
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When confronted, deceit turns their romantic evening into a darkly comedic nightmare.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Developing advanced tools entirely in-house is often impractical for financial institutions.—
Rahim Harji,
Forbes,
22 Jan. 2025
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On top of that, Los Angeles is set to host the 2028 Summer Olympics, which may serve as a looming — albeit impractical — deadline for recovery.—
Denise Chow,
NBC News,
22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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In the new release, Temple plays idealist scientist Dr. Teddy Paine opposite Chiwetel Ejiofor’s General Rex Strickland — the overseer of a secret research facility dedicated to symbiotes.—
Raven Brunner,
People.com,
25 Oct. 2024
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The movie stars Adam Driver as Cesar Catilina, an idealist architect with the power to control time, who is determined to rebuild a city that seems like New York after an accident plunges it into ruins.—
Marco della Cava,
USA TODAY,
8 Sep. 2024
Adjective
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Sly and the Family Stone were a multi-ethnic, multi-gender, multi-genre group when such concepts still seemed impossibly utopian on both the charts and the streets, led by a songwriter who deserved to be mentioned in the same breath as Mozart, Miles and McCartney.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
24 Jan. 2025
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Some fans feel Section 31 is antithetical to the utopian legacy the original series was trying to build.—
Lauren Coates,
Variety,
23 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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As so began a quixotic quest, snowballing into winter, cheered by skiers and snowboarders in Oregon and beyond, to raise about $200 million and wrest Mt. Bachelor from the corporate titans of a consolidating industry.—
John Branch,
New York Times,
23 Jan. 2025
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The goal should not be eradicating EOL—a quixotic effort—but rather determining and defending acceptable risk.—
Ismail Amla,
Forbes,
8 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near idealistic
Cite this Entry
“Idealistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idealistic. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.
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