idealism

noun

Definition of idealismnext
as in optimism
the attitude of a person who believes that it is possible to live according to very high standards of behavior and honesty youthful idealism romantic idealism

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of idealism But that, of course, is not usually, or even often, the actual case, and as her idealism falls by the wayside, the use of violence in pursuit of justice begins to make sense to her. — Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 6 July 2026 Wilson believes that’s a myopic way to view his idealism. — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 26 June 2026 Balance idealism and expectation while Venus moves between Neptune and Pluto. — Usa Today, USA Today, 17 June 2026 Critically, roughly 70% of the increase in clean-energy spending over the past five years has come from net importers of fossil fuels — nations motivated not by climate idealism but by energy security. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 12 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for idealism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idealism
  1. optimism
  2. carelessness
  3. frankness
  4. simpleness
  5. childishness
  6. impracticality
  7. sincerity
  8. ingenuousness
Noun
  • After wrapping up its longest monthly losing streak on Wall Street in more than a decade, Google has started September by giving investors several reasons for optimism.
    — MacKenzie Sigalos,Drew Troast, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Consumers are buying into a version of America that exists in the cultural imagination, whether that’s New York sophistication, California optimism, modern Western heritage or a broader aspirational lifestyle.
    — Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of optimism
Noun
  • It gets filed alongside carelessness, disorganization and not really trying, and the people who display it often apologize for it as though they’d been caught slacking.
    — Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Either this is an issue of carelessness or a lack of communication between you and the cleaning service.
    — R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of carelessness
Noun
  • Written with grimy, enlivening frankness — and an ability to dig into moral ambiguity — every character scrambles to get a leg up.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026
  • King walked into the room with impersonal frankness and sat on the bed beside me.
    — Laura Preston, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of frankness
Noun
  • The simpleness of the look really allowed the Crocs to stand out and make an impression.
    — Tara Larson, Footwear News, 14 Nov. 2025
Definition of simpleness
Noun
  • Lonnie is a Ferrell-ian blend of narcissism and good-natured childishness, but of the wishy-washiest type.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 16 July 2026
  • The childishness of his expressions infantilized a genuinely vicious regime, painting it as more peevish than petrifying.
    — Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 9 Apr. 2026
Definition of childishness
Noun
  • That points to the shortsightedness and impracticality of such a bargaining strategy.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 20 July 2026
  • On the ceiling, a suede Scalamandré wallcovering delivers the sensory impact of leather—without the impracticality.
    — Kathryn O’Shea-Evans, Robb Report, 29 Mar. 2026
Definition of impracticality
Noun
  • The human nervous system recognizes sincerity faster than polish.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Alter denounced Kanter Freedom as a bad-faith actor and questioned the sincerity of his concerns about transgender women in sports.
    — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of sincerity
Noun
  • What was once a poignant effort to extend a state of ingenuousness is now tainted from the start.
    — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
Definition of ingenuousness

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ideal
idealism
idealist
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Cite this Entry

“Idealism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idealism. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on idealism

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about idealism

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