Definition

1. Noun:
   • A portrayal of something as ideal: The act of representing or thinking about something as perfect or better than it really is.
   • Something that exists only as an idea: A conception or mental image of something in its perfect form, which may not exist in reality.
   • (Psychiatry) A defense mechanism: A process where a person deals with conflicting feelings about something by separating it into two distinct mental representations—one entirely good and the other entirely bad.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Portrayal as ideal):

  • The film's idealisation of the past ignored many historical problems.
  • His idealisation of her made it hard for him to see her flaws.

• Noun (Something existing only as an idea):

  • The perfect society he described was merely an idealisation.
  • In physics, a frictionless surface is a useful idealisation for calculations.

• Noun (Psychiatry):

  • The therapy focused on how his idealisation of his father affected his other relationships.

Advanced Usage

• "To engage in idealisation": To habitually or consciously represent things in an idealized manner.
  • The poet was often accused of engaging in idealisation, ignoring the grim realities of war.

Variants and Related Words

• Idealize (verb): To regard or represent as perfect or ideal.
  • She tends to idealize her childhood.
• Ideal (noun/adjective): A standard of perfection; conforming to such a standard.
  • He fought for his political ideals.

Synonyms

• Glorification: The act of describing or representing something as admirable, especially unjustifiably.
• Romanticization: Making something seem more appealing or romantic than it is.
• Perfection: The condition, state, or quality of being flawless.

Related Phrases

• Idealised version: A representation of something that emphasizes its positive qualities and minimizes its faults.
  • He was in love with an idealised version of her, not the real person.

Noun

1. a portrayal of something as ideal
   • the idealization of rural life was very misleading
2. something that exists only as an idea
3. (psychiatry) a defense mechanism that splits something you are ambivalent about into two representations--one good and one bad