idealist
idealist Lexical Profile
idealist Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A person who is guided more by noble ideals, high moral principles, or a vision of perfection than by practical considerations.
"As a young idealist, she joined the diplomatic corps hoping to eradicate poverty and promote global peace."
An adherent of the philosophical doctrine that reality is fundamentally mental, immaterial, or spiritually constructed rather than physical.
"George Berkeley was a prominent philosophical idealist who argued that material objects only exist insofar as they are perceived."
• adjective
Relating to or characteristic of idealism or idealists, especially in philosophy, politics, or art.
"The treaty was drafted in accordance with the idealist principles of international cooperation and collective security."
• Rhymes for idealist
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in the early 18th century by the German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (originally in French as 'idéaliste') to describe followers of Plato who held that true reality consists of non-material ideas. It stems from Late Latin 'idealis', from Greek 'idea' ('form, pattern'), which derives from the verb 'idein' ('to see').