Definition of IDEALISM (original) (raw)

1

a

: the practice of forming ideals or living under their influence

Slowly, a distinctive blue-collar counterculture emerged; it was harsher, more anarchic. … There was none of the philosophical posturing, little of the youthful idealism.—Joe Klein

b

: something that is idealized

… the real enemy of chivalric love, with its idealisms and quixotic denials … is permissiveness …—Cleanth Brooks

2

philosophy

a(1)

: a theory that ultimate reality lies in a realm transcending phenomena

(2)

: a theory that the essential nature of reality lies in consciousness or reason

b(1)

: a theory that only the perceptible is real

(2)

: a theory that only mental states or entities are knowable

3

: literary or artistic theory or practice that affirms the preeminent value of imagination as compared with faithful copying of nature compare realism

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1743, in the meaning defined at sense 2a(1)

Time Traveler

The first known use of idealism was circa 1743