idealizer
One who romanticizes
An idealizer is someone who sees things as better than they really are, attributing excessive virtue or perfection to people, situations, or ideas.
The word often carries a critical edge—implying naivety or willful blindness: He was an idealizer who couldn't see his mentor's flaws.
Idealizers may romanticize the past, overlook present problems, or imagine futures untouched by real constraints.
One given to fantasies
- utopianImpractically perfect in conception
- fantasistCreator of fictions
- romanticismEmotional, imaginative worldview
- rose-coloredPinkish or overly hopeful
naïve · starry-eyed · wishful · sentimental · quixotic · hopeful · optimist · believer
Tomorrow trends scholar
- pioneerEarly explorer or settler
- innovatorCreator of new methods
- trailblazerFirst to forge ahead
- reformerAgent of institutional improvement
prophet · revolutionary · architect · dreamer · progressive · forward-thinking · theorist · imaginer
Something that extends outward
- transferenceRedirecting feelings to substitutes
- infatuationShort-lived intense attraction
- pedestalSupport for statuary
- worshipReligious reverence and praise
crush · attachment · splitting · devaluation · narcissism · mirroring · disillusionment · overvaluation
Showing extreme attention to detail
- exactingDemanding great care
- flawlessEntirely without fault
- uncompromisingRefusing to yield ground
- standardsAccepted levels of quality
excellence · optimization · detail-oriented · fastidious · rigorous · polishing · refining · overachiever
Greek philosopher, academy founder
- KantGerman Enlightenment thinker
- HegelGerman absolute idealist philosopher
- BerkeleyBay Area university city
- metaphysicsPhilosophy of existence's nature
transcendental · absolute · forms · essence · phenomenology · dialectic · abstraction · universals
dreamer
One given to fantasies
- utopianImpractically perfect in conception
- fantasistCreator of fictions
- romanticismEmotional, imaginative worldview
rose-colored · naïve · starry-eyed · wishful · sentimental · quixotic · hopeful · optimist · believer · innocent
futurist
Tomorrow trends scholar
- pioneerEarly explorer or settler
- innovatorCreator of new methods
- trailblazerFirst to forge ahead
reformer · prophet · revolutionary · architect · dreamer · progressive · forward-thinking · theorist · imaginer · blueprint
projection
Something that extends outward
- transferenceRedirecting feelings to substitutes
- infatuationShort-lived intense attraction
- pedestalSupport for statuary
worship · crush · attachment · splitting · devaluation · narcissism · mirroring · disillusionment · overvaluation · distortion
meticulous
Showing extreme attention to detail
- exactingDemanding great care
- flawlessEntirely without fault
- uncompromisingRefusing to yield ground
standards · excellence · optimization · detail-oriented · fastidious · rigorous · polishing · refining · overachiever · striving
Plato
Greek philosopher, academy founder
- KantGerman Enlightenment thinker
- HegelGerman absolute idealist philosopher
- BerkeleyBay Area university city
metaphysics · transcendental · absolute · forms · essence · phenomenology · dialectic · abstraction · universals · rationalist
idealizerrealist
One accepting hard truths
pragmatist · hardnose · skeptic · empiricist · cynic
idealizercynic
Doubter of good intentions
pessimist · defeatist · nihilist · misanthrope · denigrator
idealizerdefeatist
One expecting inevitable failure
pessimist · doomsayer · fatalist · catastrophist · doom-and-gloomer