idealization
Seeing through rose-glasses
Idealization is the mental process of regarding something or someone as perfect or better than reality warrants.
A child's idealization of a parent may shatter in adolescence.
In art or literature, idealization smooths away flaws to present subjects in their most favorable form: The portrait was an idealization—she never looked that serene.
The term often implies self-deception or naïveté about the object of admiration.
Entirely without fault
- impeccableFree from any defect
- pristinePure and untouched
- optimalMost desirable outcome
- excellenceOutstanding quality or merit
unblemished · immaculate · faultless · consummate · utopian · polished · refined · pure
Pinkish or overly hopeful
- glorificationElevating praise or worship
- sentimentalityExcessive tender emotion
- nostalgiaLonging for the past
- infatuationShort-lived intense attraction
adoration · idolization · worship · devotion · cherishing · enchantment · beautification · softening
Sleeping mind's narrative
- ambitionDesire for achievement
- goalDesired end result
- visionAbility to see
- hopeDesire for good outcomes
yearning · longing · desire · pursuit · quest · aspiration · striving · reaching
Misleading sensory impression
- fantasyImaginative mental wandering
- delusionStubbornly held false belief
- mirageAtmospheric optical deception
- pipe dreamUnrealistic aspiration
quixotic · impractical · unattainable · distortion · wishful thinking · naivety · oversimplification · blindness
Greek philosopher, academy founder
- PlatonicOf the Forms philosopher
- metaphysicsPhilosophy of existence's nature
- abstractionDistilling to essential qualities
- essenceFundamental nature of something
universal · transcendental · Neoplatonism · idealism · immaterial · theoretical · absolute · Kantian
Flawless model to emulate
- epitomePerfect representative of type
- archetypeOriginal model for copies
- prototypeFirst functional specimen
- modelRepresentation or paradigm
standard · benchmark · icon · hero · role model · guiding light · inspiration · idol
Distilling to essential qualities
- generalizationDeriving principles from examples
- simplificationMaking something less complex
- categorizationArranging into groups
- schematizationCreating simplified structural representations
mental model · representation · conceptualization · typification · selective attention · filtering · cognitive bias · heuristic
flawless
Entirely without fault
- impeccableFree from any defect
- pristinePure and untouched
- optimalMost desirable outcome
excellence · unblemished · immaculate · faultless · consummate · utopian · polished · refined · pure · transcendent
rose-colored
Pinkish or overly hopeful
- glorificationElevating praise or worship
- sentimentalityExcessive tender emotion
- nostalgiaLonging for the past
infatuation · adoration · idolization · worship · devotion · cherishing · enchantment · beautification · softening · whitewashing
dream
Sleeping mind's narrative
hope · yearning · longing · desire · pursuit · quest · aspiration · striving · reaching · imagining
illusion
Misleading sensory impression
- fantasyImaginative mental wandering
- delusionStubbornly held false belief
- mirageAtmospheric optical deception
pipe dream · quixotic · impractical · unattainable · distortion · wishful thinking · naivety · oversimplification · blindness · denial
Plato
Greek philosopher, academy founder
- PlatonicOf the Forms philosopher
- metaphysicsPhilosophy of existence's nature
- abstractionDistilling to essential qualities
essence · universal · transcendental · Neoplatonism · idealism · immaterial · theoretical · absolute · Kantian · conceptual
paragon
Flawless model to emulate
- epitomePerfect representative of type
- archetypeOriginal model for copies
- prototypeFirst functional specimen
model · standard · benchmark · icon · hero · role model · guiding light · inspiration · idol · gold standard
abstraction
Distilling to essential qualities
- generalizationDeriving principles from examples
- simplificationMaking something less complex
- categorizationArranging into groups
schematization · mental model · representation · conceptualization · typification · selective attention · filtering · cognitive bias · heuristic · pattern
- fantasiesdaydream, fantasy, dream, wishful thinking, illusion
- Beauty Idealsgolden ratio, perfect form, beauty standard, perfection, symmetry
- Classical Aestheticssymmetry, proportion, harmony, balance, beauty
- coping mechanismsrepression, denial, projection, sublimation, rationalization
- creative libertiesartistic license, poetic license, liberties, creative liberties, fictionalization
- sentimentalitymawkish, schmaltzy, saccharine, treacly, cloying
idealizationrealism
Accepting things as they are
clear-sightedness · disillusionment · objectivity · reality check · soberness
idealizationdemonization
Casting as evil
vilification · devaluation · disparagement · denigration · catastrophizing
idealizationpragmatism
Practical problem-solving philosophy
acceptance · disenchantment · groundedness · coming to terms · demystification