Utopian

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /juːˈtəʊ.pi.ən/

Definitions

1. relating to or advocating an imagined perfect society that is impractical or unrealizable in actual practice
2. characteristic of idealistic visions of an impossibly perfect world that ignore practical constraints and human nature
3. Connected with the idea of a perfect society that cannot be achieved in reality

Etymology: Thomas More gave the word its first meaning in 1516, when he published "Utopia," a book describing an imaginary island with a perfectly organized society. He built the title from Greek: "ou" meaning "not" and "topos" meaning "place," so the name literally means "no-place." The pun is deliberate, since "eutopia," with the Greek "eu" meaning "good," sounds almost identical and suggests "good place." More's coinage, first recorded in Latin as "Utopia," was later adopted into English. The adjective "utopian" is a simple derivation from that noun, formed by adding the suffix "-an," which turns a name or noun into a related adjective. It describes anything that resembles More's imagined island, most often a plan or ideal that seems admirable but impractical. Because the island itself was never meant to exist, the adjective carries a built-in sense of unreachable perfection.

Synonyms: idealistic, perfect

Antonyms: dystopian, realistic