idealist

[ahy-dee-uh-list] / aɪˈdi ə lɪst /

NOUN

person who holds fancies in mind, who believes in perfection

Synonyms

STRONGEST

dreamer optimist visionary

STRONG

Platonist enthusiast escapist radical romantic romanticist seer stargazer theorizer transcendentalist utopian

WEAK

romancer

Antonyms

WEAK

pragmatist realist

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Amodei is an idealist who represents the historically liberal wing of Silicon Valley, concerned about unleashing AI without proper guardrails.

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 21, 2025

And Chinese media describe him as a "technical idealist" - he insists on keeping DeepSeek as an open-source platform.

From BBC • Jan. 28, 2025

We’re conscious that the point is to lament an idealist whose life was cut short.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 27, 2025

I was always very much an idealist and was like, "Let's just try."

From Salon • Dec. 25, 2024

"Your world . . ." "I knew he was a mystic idealist!"

From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison

Vocabulary lists containing idealist

A Raisin in the Sun

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"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 20–25

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The Perks of Being a Wallflower

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