From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishidealismi‧deal‧is‧m /aɪˈdɪəlɪzəm/ noun [uncountable] 1 BELIEVEthe belief that you should live your life according to high standards and principles, even when they are very difficult to achieve → realism the idealism of the younger generation religious idealism2 technicalRPA a way of using art or literature to show the world as a perfect place, even though it is not → realism, naturalism
Examples from the Corpus
idealism• I had expected defensiveness and brittle idealism, but I was wrong.• He could now move from cultural idealism and aesthetic values to political commitment.• But at times the divine value seems absent from nature, and man is left alone with his idealism.• But it is worse it's also a history of mechanical idealism excusing criminal stupidity.• For though neither empiricism nor idealism are satisfactory in themselves, Ishmael does make use of both.• Even when it is near its best, the call to faith in modern preaching can often border on idealism.• However, their idealism is tempered with realism. 