utopia

C2+ Topic:Literature & Storytelling

US /juˈtoʊpiə/ UK /juːˈtəʊpiə/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
an imagined place of ideal perfection in laws, government, and society

His novel imagined a utopia where no one wanted for food or shelter.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an imagined place of ideal... paradise eden arcadia heaven idyll nirvana

Opposites

dystopia hell inferno

Word family

Derived forms utopianutopianismutopist

Simplified etymology

Utopia was coined by Thomas More as the name of the imaginary island in his 1516 Latin work. He formed it from Greek ou, “not,” and topos, “place,” implying “nowhere”; during the 17th century it became a general term for an imagined place with a perfect social order.

Etymology

Coined by Sir Thomas More in 1516 as the name of his ideal commonwealth, from Ancient Greek ou ('not') plus topos ('place'), literally 'no-place', with a pun on eutopia ('good place').

ou Ancient Greek topos Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Literature & Storytelling Places & Geography

External links

# utopia

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /juˈtoʊpiə/
**IPA (UK):** /juːˈtəʊpiə/

## Meanings
1. an imagined place of ideal perfection in laws, government, and society

## Examples
- His novel imagined a utopia where no one wanted for food or shelter.

## Synonyms
- paradise
- eden
- arcadia
- heaven
- idyll
- nirvana

## Antonyms
- dystopia
- hell
- inferno

## Derived Forms
- utopian
- utopianism
- utopist

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: ou
- Root: topos

## Etymology
Coined by Sir Thomas More in 1516 as the name of his ideal commonwealth, from Ancient Greek ou ('not') plus topos ('place'), literally 'no-place', with a pun on eutopia ('good place').

## AI Etymology
Utopia was coined by Sir Thomas More in 1516 as the name of his ideal commonwealth, from Ancient Greek ou ('not') plus topos ('place'), literally 'no-place', with a pun on eutopia ('good place'). In current use it is a noun meaning "an imagined place of ideal perfection in laws, government, and society". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The surface form is compositional: its joined elements remain visible in the modern word. The historical chain includes Ancient Greek ou and Ancient Greek topos. Derived forms include utopian, utopianism, and utopist. As a result, the modern word is best read as a negative, privative, or reversative formation built on a historically older base.

## Topics
- Literature & Storytelling
- Places & Geography

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