How to Use idealize in a Sentence

idealize

verb
  • She tends to idealize her job.
  • The Paris in his film feels stylized, idealized.
    — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 17 June 2026
  • Barbie lives on the sort of suburban cul de sac idealized in that era.
    — Time, 27 June 2023
  • But the temptation to idealize him as a symbol may be too strong.
    — Edward Rothstein, WSJ, 24 June 2019
  • The West has been idealized as a place to get away from it all, which sets folks up for disappointment.
    — Amelia Arvesen, Women's Health, 17 May 2023
  • To me, this idealized rural life was all about living at a slower pace and being more eco-conscious.
    — Lauren Juarez, refinery29.com, 19 Apr. 2023
  • Day after day, minute by minute, their social media feeds are filled with images that idealize the taut, plump, smoothness of youth.
    — April Daniels Hussar, Allure, 12 July 2024
  • Black motherhood has never been idealized the way white motherhood has been.
    — Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 21 Apr. 2023
  • This is not to idealize Mina herself, nor to claim her as a modern feminist.
    — Katherine Hobbs, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Mar. 2023
  • Acknowledge your mixed feelings, but avoid idealizing the past.
    — Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2024
  • Other times, the mirror’s idealizing powers can be harnessed for good.
    — Mitch Therieau, New Yorker, 2 July 2025
  • In idealizing the past, his characters court disaster and tragedy.
    — Robert Rubsam, Washington Post, 24 June 2024
  • The new fad of tradwife influencers idealizing a time before women had the right to vote is evidence enough.
    — Literary Hub, 20 May 2026
  • Bros shines a light on the parts of gay male culture that seem to idealize and eroticize stereotypical masculinity.
    — Max Gao, Harper's BAZAAR, 28 Sep. 2022
  • Krasner, with his frank, no-nonsense rhetoric and his indifference to tradition, is easy to idealize.
    — Anna Boots, The New Yorker, 6 Aug. 2021
  • So Superman’s image is more polished and idealized in comic books during this time.
    — Ari Daniel, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 July 2025
  • Olympic entries skewed toward the classic and idealized, even in Paris in 1924.
    — John Branch, New York Times, 2 May 2024
  • This process encourages people, especially women, to idealize certain kinds of body types and to try to achieve them.
    — Mark Travers, Forbes, 9 June 2022
  • Nothing wrong with idealizing and daydreaming, but to a certain extent.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 13 Apr. 2026
  • Adolescence, as life phases go, is not especially easy to idealize.
    — Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2026
  • These lines reveal the perspective of someone who has been immersed in one medium for too long and is now busy idealizing another.
    — Michael O’Donnell, The Atlantic, 2 July 2026
  • For more than a decade, cutting down on meat and other animal products has been idealized as a healthier, more ethical way to eat.
    — Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic, 24 Mar. 2025
  • The article avoids idealizing the victim, who, like the others, had been using drugs before the murder.
    — USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2018
  • Lucinda is less the focus of interest in the book than the people who idealized or envied her or now investigate her death.
    — Tom Nolan, WSJ, 11 Aug. 2017
  • While some look at this movement as idealizing a time when women had fewer rights and independence, many trad wives do not think their roles are demeaning.
    — Alyssa Goldberg, USA TODAY, 13 Nov. 2024
  • The film doesn’t idealize the president as a man of unhesitating certainties.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2025
  • There’s a fine line between being crystal clear and idealizing a situation.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 23 Sep. 2025
  • Yet many Venezuelans idealize this period.
    — The Atlantic, 29 Jan. 2026
  • One partner might be worried about the social stigma if others find out or just can’t get beyond all the cultural messaging that idealizes monogamy.
    — Ian Kerner, CNN, 19 Feb. 2023
  • The city of God metaphor has long been a tool for American leaders – both to idealize the nation and to warn against immigration.
    — Yii-Jan Lin, The Conversation, 23 Oct. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'idealize.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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