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

Edward Norton supplies the film with a gentle Pete Seeger, someone used to leading audiences in peaceful, utopian song but increasingly mystified by this newcomer who sharpens the folk movement into a spear and then takes the battle in a completely different direction. —Joshua Rothkopf, Los Angeles Times, 24 Dec. 2024

Ultimately, while the dream that humanity will be freed from the shackles of labor and freed to pursue a life of leisure and creativity is attractive, the leap to this utopian state is far from guaranteed. —Bernard Marr, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024

Noun

Religious groups, social reformers and utopians flowed to the canal zone, eager to integrate themselves in the new opportunities the waterway afforded. —Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Dec. 2024

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

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