From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishidealisti‧deal‧ist /aɪˈdɪəlɪst/ noun [countable] BELIEVEsomeone who tries to live according to high standards or principles, especially in a way that is not practical or possible → realist
Examples from the Corpus
idealist• Cavalier, arrogant, mendacious, and whatever else he was, Mike Straus was also an idealist.• Bazarov is an idealist and a brave man, and his aims are rational.• But at heart he remained an idealist about social issues.• By bribery - all men are corruptible - and by removing permanently any so-called idealists who stand in our way.• Paine, like many idealists in a hurry, was probably impatient of the slowness of legal remedies for existing abuses.• Gatting, the street fighter; and Gower, the idealist. 