noun · academic
idealism
/aɪˈdɪəlɪzəm/i·DE·al·ism
the belief in or pursuit of high or noble principles, often without regard to practicality
Examples
“Her idealism led her to campaign for radical education reform.”
“While idealism inspires change, it can clash with pragmatic policy-making.”
“Young activists often start with strong idealism, then learn political realities.”
Band 8 sentence
“A balance between idealism and pragmatism is essential if policymakers are to implement meaningful reforms.”
Collocations
- naive idealism
- political idealism
- tempered idealism
Word family
Common mistakes
He acts with a lot of idealismic ideas.→He acts with a lot of idealistic ideas.
There are many idealisms in his speech.→There are many idealistic elements in his speech.
Say it for a higher band
5wishful thinking→6idealistic thinking→7+idealism
Synonyms
utopianism
Easily confused
realism
“Her realism helped the team focus on achievable goals.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In -ism
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