Meaning & use
idealize
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To think of or show someone or something as perfect, ignoring their faults.
Grammar: Takes an object: idealize a person, a place, or a time in the past.
Patterns
- idealize someone
- idealize something
- idealize someone as something
Many teenagers idealize their favorite singers and refuse to see any flaws.
The film idealizes country life, leaving out the hard work and loneliness.
He tends to idealize his childhood, remembering only the happy moments.
verbtransitive
To imagine or describe something in a way that is more perfect than it really is.
Grammar: Often used with abstract nouns like 'love', 'beauty', or 'the past'.
Patterns
- idealize something
- idealize something as something
Romantic novels often idealize love, making it seem effortless.
The advertisement idealizes the product, suggesting it will solve all your problems.
Historians warn against idealizing the past and forgetting its problems.
Word forms
| third person singular | idealizes |
|---|---|
| past tense | idealized |
| past participle | idealized |
| -ing form | idealizing |
Common combinations
- idealize someone as something
- She idealized him as a hero, but he was just an ordinary man.
- idealize the past
- It's easy to idealize the past when you're unhappy with the present.
- tend to idealize
- People tend to idealize their first love.
- idealize a person
- Therapists help patients stop idealizing people who hurt them.
- idealize something out of proportion
- The media idealizes success out of proportion, making failure seem shameful.
Synonyms and how they differ
- romanticize
- Romanticize often suggests making something seem more exciting or mysterious, while idealize focuses on perfection and lack of flaws.
- glorify
- Glorify means to praise highly, sometimes inappropriately, but it doesn't necessarily imply seeing something as perfect.
- worship
- Worship implies deep admiration and devotion, often religious; idealize is more about unrealistic perfection.
Opposites
Word family
- ideal noun
- A principle or standard of perfection that people aim for.
- ideal adjective
- Perfect or best possible.
- idealism noun
- The belief that perfect standards can be achieved.
- idealistic adjective
- Believing in perfect standards, often unrealistically.
- idealization noun
- The act of representing something as perfect.
Commonly confused: idealize or idolize?
idealize vs idolize
Idolize means to admire someone excessively, like a fan adoring a star; idealize means to see them as perfect and without faults.
Practice
Choose the correct preposition: 'He idealized his older brother ___ a hero.'
Choose one answer.
'Idealize someone as something' is the correct pattern. 'For' and 'with' do not fit; 'like' would mean he idealized his brother in a similar way to a hero, not that he saw him as one.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “idealize”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.