idealism

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /aɪˈdiːəˌlɪzəm/ UK /aɪˈdɪəlɪzəm/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
the pursuit of high ideals; a philosophy stressing mind or ideas

Her youthful idealism inspired the whole movement.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the pursuit of high ideals;... perfectionismutopianismromanticism optimism

Opposites

realism materialism pragmatism cynicism

Word family

Forms quasi-idealism

Related forms ideal idealist idealize idea

Etymology

From ideal + -ism, modeled on French idealisme, ultimately from Ancient Greek idea ('form, pattern'), from idein ('to see').

idea Latin *weid- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# idealism

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** aɪˈdiːəˌlɪzəm
**IPA (UK):** aɪˈdɪəlɪzəm

## Meanings
1. the pursuit of high ideals; a philosophy stressing mind or ideas

## Examples
- Her youthful idealism inspired the whole movement.

## Synonyms
- perfectionism
- utopianism
- romanticism
- optimism

## Antonyms
- realism
- materialism
- pragmatism
- cynicism

## Related Forms
- ideal
- idealist
- idealize
- idea

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: idea
- Root: *weid-

## Etymology
From ideal + -ism, modeled on French idealisme, ultimately from Ancient Greek idea ('form, pattern'), from idein ('to see').

## AI Etymology
Idealism comes from ideal + -ism, modeled on French idealisme, ultimately from Ancient Greek idea ('form, pattern'), from idein ('to see'). The suffix is part of the word's derivational shape, marking the final grammatical or semantic role while the base supplies the central meaning. As a noun, it denotes "the pursuit of high ideals; a philosophy stressing mind or ideas", keeping the historical idea close to its dictionary sense. Relevant historical forms include Ancient Greek idea and Proto-Indo-European *weid-. Related words include ideal, idealist, idealize, idea.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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idealism

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