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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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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Their relationship, perhaps romantic, perhaps not, upends both of their lives.—
Mark Olsen,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Jan. 2025
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Owning a cat can even improve our romantic relationships.—
Jackie (Ott) Jaakola,
Forbes,
10 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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For instance, unused network segments can be powered down temporarily to save energy, a task that would be impractical to manage manually across thousands of network sites.—
Robert Backhouse,
Forbes,
8 Jan. 2025
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Experts dismiss an analogous design for the U.S. as impractical—Israel's defenses are vastly different to the U.S. for several reasons, not least the size of the country and who is doing the targeting.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
4 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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The film revisits Puerto Rico’s utopian moment through the lens of rural filmmaking in the 1950s and 60s.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
9 Jan. 2025
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Lobo is an alien mercenary and bounty hunter from the utopian planet of Czarnia in the DC comics.—
Brian Welk,
IndieWire,
30 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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With Mayor Michelle Wu’s increasingly quixotic attempt to raise commercial taxes set to come before the Senate for a third time again Monday, the Joint Revenue Committee chair weighed in on the issue with cold feet on Sunday.—
Grace Zokovitch,
Boston Herald,
9 Dec. 2024
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If not the quixotic quest for the playoffs, then as a testament to quality for players and coaches and a momentum starter for the 2025 season.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
The Mercury News,
6 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near idealistic
Cite this Entry
“Idealistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idealistic. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
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