as in romantic
having or marked by a tendency to be guided more by ideals than by reality
an idealist attempt to make a go of a mom-and-pop hardware store on Main Street
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in dreamer
one whose conduct is guided more by the image of perfection than by the real world
an idealist sees the best in everyone, regardless of how they behave
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of idealist
Bryce Jones, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Oct. 2023
Although Oppenheimer represented the idealist wing, who thought development of the bomb might lead to some good end, many of the physicists justified their work on purely empirical grounds.
—Longreads, 20 July 2023
Arata Yamamoto, NBC News, 27 Sep. 2024
For idealists and progressives, isolationism meant escaping realpolitik and enabling investment in the country’s economic well-being rather than in instruments of war.
—Charles Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 9 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for idealist 
Adjective
Sweet floral scents have the same energy as their positive, idealist outlook on life.
—Bryce Jones, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Oct. 2023
Although Oppenheimer represented the idealist wing, who thought development of the bomb might lead to some good end, many of the physicists justified their work on purely empirical grounds.
—Longreads, 20 July 2023
Noun
In addition to being a realist, Ishiba is also an idealist who has never been tainted by scandal, Cucek said.
—Arata Yamamoto, NBC News, 27 Sep. 2024
For idealists and progressives, isolationism meant escaping realpolitik and enabling investment in the country’s economic well-being rather than in instruments of war.
—Charles Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 9 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for idealist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idealist
Adjective
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The two had a romantic relationship, according to federal prosecutors. Gratz, 26, of Circle Pines, pleaded guilty to the same charge in September 2022.Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 12 Nov. 2024
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The film portrays the Mile End music scene that birthed artists like Mac DeMarco, Arcade Fire and Grimes, as Grace grapples with romantic obsession and finding her voice as a writer.Alex Ritman, Variety, 5 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Big dreamers have busy minds, need the intense focus of their dreams to carry them through life as far as possible.Jim Clash, Forbes, 24 Oct. 2024
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From Chicken Man’s perspective, this guy was a dreamer.Ronda Racha Penrice, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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At their best, these leaders make up an idealistic safeguard against the rampant disinformation, foreign interference, and just base political nihilism that is clogging the conversations about whether the vote tallies this week can be trusted.Philip Elliott, TIME, 4 Nov. 2024
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The past month in Lebanon, like the past year in Gaza, has demonstrated that Israel’s leaders have no idealistic pretensions about establishing a new political order in Lebanon or in the Strip.Mohanad Hage Ali, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Outsourcing vendor management may also be impractical, as most services are designed and priced for large enterprises.Paul Blough, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
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That same year, following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, Saddam Hussein ordered an impractical (and unsuccessful) effort to quickly build a nuclear weapon.Uri Friedman, The Atlantic, 30 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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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
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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
Adjective
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The contrast between Harris’s progressive tax agenda and Trump’s business-friendly policies illustrates a broader ideological divide in American politics.Darren T. Case, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
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Both then and now, the Republican party was undergoing an ideological reconfiguration, one which widened the gender gap.Elizabeth Rees / Made by History, TIME, 1 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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In June 2020, the Small Arms Survey made a quixotic attempt to map the main alliances and rivalries among South Sudanese elites.Jason K. Stearns, Foreign Affairs, 19 Apr. 2022
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Aromas of climbing in a sappy tree as a kid, of grassy hedgerows in France in spring, of maple syrup, molasses, malt balls, lapsang souchong tea and orange juice—a sort of quixotic brew of rounded but novel aromas characteristic of coloroful Cadillac wines.Tom Mullen, Forbes, 29 Sep. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near idealist
Cite this Entry
“Idealist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idealist. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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