idealism Hear it!

idealism Definition

ideal·ism (ī dēəl iz′əm)

noun

  1. behavior or thought based on a conception of things as they should be or as one would wish them to be; idealization
  2. a striving to achieve one's ideals
  3. imaginative treatment in art that seeks to show the artist's or author's conception of perfection; representation of imagined types, or ideals
  4. Philos. any of various theories which hold that:
    1. things exist only as ideas in the mind rather than as material objects independent of the mind
    2. things in the material world are actually manifestations of an independent realm of unchanging, immaterial models or forms

Etymology: Fr idéalisme or Ger idealismus

idealism Synonyms

idealism

n.

  1. Devotion to high principles

    perfectionism, high-mindedness, aspiration, sense of duty, humanitarianism, meliorism, utopianism, romanticism, quixotism, knight-errantry, impracticality, idealization, principle, virtue, conscience, philosophy.

  2. The conception of the universe as idea

    Platonism, metaphysical idealism, epistemological idealism, metaphysics, immaterialism, immateriality, subjective idealism, Hegelianism, Transcendentalism, Fichteism.

idealism Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • reflect: His whole behavior reflected spiritual idealism, with sometimes the postures of a visionary, sometimes the frank outbursts of a child.
  • call: The theory that reality is just an idea is called philosophical Idealism.
  • have: Because I'd had the same ridiculous idealism when I was a musician, I found myself doing long-term residencies in health care.
  • see: I see that idealism in the faces of this academy class.

Converse of subject

  • drive: Kandinsky was driven by a fierce idealism and distinctly Slavic belief in the ' inner world ' of the soul.

Adjective modifier

  • transcendental: That " point of view " is in fact two distinct species of transcendental idealism.
  • Hegelian: It is worth briefly sketching out some salient features of Hegelian Idealism.
  • person's: This process is enhanced by the person's ethical idealism.
  • Utopian: The Republic has been seen as the classic text of Platonic Utopian idealism.
  • youthful: Hain is a shining example of youthful idealism being replaced by cynical self interest in later life.
  • utopian: Far from being a Pie in the Sky dream of utopian idealism the authors contend that such a revolutionary change is within our grasp.

Noun used with modifier

  • person's: In effect, a person's idealism is channeled through the abreactive process.
  • objective: Top of Page Philosophical Idealism comes in two forms: subjective Idealism and objective Idealism.
  • rationalist: First there was a critical, rationalist idealism, often involving a return to Descartes, Kant, Hegel or Husserl.
  • hippie: It marks the end of the sixties hippie idealism.

Possessives

  • person: A secondary source of unpleasantness is generated eventually by the person's idealism.

Preposition: of

  • youth: Unlike Marx, Herzen proved incapable of progressing beyond the romantic idealism of youth.
  • people: The idealism of young people focussed on an organization over which they have control allows them to aim high and to achieve even higher.
idealism Quotes

Whenever one comes to close grips with so-called idealism, as in war time, one is shocked by its rascality.

—Mencken, H(enry) L(ouis)

Practical efficiency is common, and lofty idealism is not uncommon; it is the combination that is necessary, and that combination is rare.

—Roosevelt,Theodore

   Idealism isthe noble toga that political gentlemen drape over their will to power.

—Huxley, Aldous Leonard

Browse dictionary entries near idealism

  1. ideal point
  2. ideal
  3. idea man
  4. idea
  5. -ide
  6. IDDD
  7. Idahoan
  8. Idaho
  9. -idae
  10. Ida
  1. idealist
  2. idealistic
  3. ideality
  4. idealization
  5. idealize
  6. ideally
  7. ideals
  8. ideate
  9. ideation
  10. idem