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Definitions

idealize

[ahy-dee-uh-lahyz] / aɪˈdi əˌlaɪz /
VERB
romanticize
Synonyms


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.

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Historian Quinn Slobodian joins Felix Salmon to discuss the tech billionaires who idealize a world without democracy.

From Slate ● Feb. 4, 2025

“What’s important is to not make a myth or idealize anyone, including our founder. If we made a myth out of him, we were wrong,” she said.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 28, 2023

“I think that a lot of people almost idealize our jobs,” said Kim Yutani, director of programming for the Sundance Film Festival.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 20, 2023

“They idealize a world where the right kinds of people participate,” Perry said.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 18, 2022

At first Fernanda did not talk about her family, but in time she began to idealize her father.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Called "splitting," Behr defined this as "the person devalues and idealizes you or others."

From Salon ● Jan. 26, 2023

But then, “The Offer” also idealizes Evans, who did a pretty good job of that himself in his memoir and subsequent documentary “The Kid Stays in the Picture.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2022

Like her, he idealizes love, remembering Bronco Henry as part of a bygone generation of “real men” and attributing all his ranching success to his deceased lover.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 25, 2021

Because he was the only straight, cis man I ever dated, she idealizes him.

From Slate ● Jan. 7, 2021

Just as he idealizes Caroline, he paints the Loyers as the perfect mother and daughter.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman

Others have argued that the 364-day system was never intended for everyday use and functioned only as an idealized religious framework.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

We would like to leave no moment uncaptured, would like to at least try to become pearly, hairless, omniscient idealized beings, even if this desire lurks somewhere beneath what we’d consciously admit.

From Slate ● Sep. 14, 2026

Worried about its future and often nostalgic for an idealized past, it's fair to say that much of America saw itself in Dolly Parton.

From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026

But “Do the Right Thing” remains with us, its urgency and relevance undiminished, waiting for an America open to listen and live up to its idealized aspirations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

Former president Harry Truman, idealized by many blacks for integrating the military, may have been more decisive than his successor, but his stand on the lunch-counter protests didn’t please blacks.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

This verdict is in keeping with the tenor of the last 50 years of classical scholarship, which has moved past—perhaps too far past—any idealizing visions of Pericles and Athens.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026

“But I would advise against idealizing him like he is the new Benito Juárez, or to say that—just because he is Indigenous—he cannot be criticized.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2025

“We have a way of idealizing and protecting auteurs and putting them on such a pedestal that they become untouchable,” says Godrèche of French attitudes about cinema.

From Seattle Times ● May 15, 2024

By stigmatizing high art and idealizing popular taste, they claim to be striking a blow for true democracy — and not just pandering, as advertisers, politicians and the media do as a matter of course.

From Salon ● Dec. 25, 2021

Also, Theo thinks, Vincent is too focused on Mauve and is idealizing him, as he is wont to do with people.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman




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