utopian

utopian
[[t]juːto͟ʊpiən[/t]]
utopians
1) ADJ-GRADED (disapproval) If you describe a plan or idea as utopian, you are criticizing it because it is unrealistic and shows a belief that things can be improved much more than is possible.

He was pursuing a utopian dream of world prosperity...

A complete absence of national border controls is as utopian today as the vision of world government.

Syn:
idealist
N-COUNT
A utopian is someone with utopian ideas.

Kennedy had no time for lost causes or famous failures, no patience with dreamers or liberal utopians.

2) ADJ: usu ADJ n Utopian is used to describe political or religious philosophies which claim that it is possible to build a new and perfect society in which everyone is happy. [FORMAL]

His was a utopian vision of nature in its purest form.

N-COUNT
A utopian is someone with utopian beliefs.

...a group of utopians who immigrated in the 1920s and '30s.


English dictionary. 2008.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Utopian — U*to pi*an, a. Of or pertaining to Utopia; resembling Utopia; hence, ideal; chimerical; fanciful; founded upon, or involving, imaginary perfections; as, Utopian projects; Utopian happiness. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Utopian — [yo͞o tō′pēən] adj. [ModL Utopianus] 1. of or like Utopia 2. [often u ] a) having the nature of, or inclined to draw up schemes for, a utopia; idealistic; visionary b) founded upon ideas envisioning perfection in social and political organization …   English World dictionary

  • Utopian — U*to pi*an, n. An inhabitant of Utopia; hence, one who believes in the perfectibility of human society; a visionary; an idealist; an optimist. Hooker. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Utopian — index quixotic Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • utopian — (adj.) 1550s, with reference to More s fictional country; 1610s as extravagantly ideal, impossibly visionary, from UTOPIA (Cf. utopia) + IAN (Cf. ian). As a noun meaning visionary idealist it is first recorded c.1873 (earlier in this sense was… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Utopian — *ambitious, pretentious Analogous words: impracticable, unfeasible, impossible (see affirmative adjectives at POSSIBLE): visionary, quixotic, chimerical (see IMAGINARY): ideal, transcendental, *abstract …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • utopian — [adj] imaginary, ideal abstract, airy, ambitious, arcadian, chimerical, dream, fanciful, fantasy, grandiose, hopeful, idealist, idealistic, ideological, illusory, impossible, impractical, lofty, otherworldly, perfect, piein the sky*, pretentious …   New thesaurus

  • utopian — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ idealistic. ► NOUN ▪ an idealistic reformer. DERIVATIVES utopianism noun …   English terms dictionary

  • utopian — I. adjective Usage: often capitalized Date: 1551 1. of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a utopia; especially having impossibly ideal conditions especially of social organization 2. proposing or advocating impractically ideal social… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • utopian — u|to|pi|an [ ju toupiən ] adjective utopian principles or beliefs are based on the idea that life can be perfect. This is often used for saying that something is not practical or sensible: a utopian ideal/vision/fantasy …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”