Idealises

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To depict something as flawless or exemplary, to see a person or object as possessing exceptional or unrealistic traits, or to imagine an ideal version that does not truly exist
2. To portray an individual or concept as without flaws, to consider a subject as possessing extraordinary or unreal characteristics, or to visualize an aspirational scenario that may not reflect reality
3. Represents or views someone or something as perfect or better than actual reality

Etymology: "Idealises" is simply the third-person singular present form of the verb "idealise," so the history belongs to the verb itself. "Idealise" is built from "ideal," which came into English from medieval Latin "idealis," itself drawn from the Latin "idea," a word that the ancient Greeks had used for the visible form or outward appearance of a thing. The "-ise" ending, a verb-forming suffix, was added to turn the adjective into an action: to make something conform to an ideal, or to see it in that light. The word therefore carries a quiet tension. An ideal began as a concept of perfection held in the mind, yet "idealise" describes the act of projecting that perfection onto something imperfect. Someone who idealises a past era, a lover, or a country is not describing what is there but what they wish were there. The verb's core meaning is thus a mental act of substitution, the ideal standing in for the real.

Synonyms: envisions, perfects, romanticizes

Antonyms: realizes, diminishes