Definition of "idealism" in English

noun

1. The property of a person of having high ideals that are usually unrealizable or at odds with practical life.

2. The practice or habit of giving or attributing ideal form or character to things; treatment of things in art or literature according to ideal standards or patterns;—opposed to realism.

3. (philosophy) An approach to philosophical enquiry, which asserts that direct and immediate knowledge can only be had of ideas or mental pictures.