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Utopia
[ yoo-toh-pee-uh ]
noun
- an imaginary island described in Sir Thomas More's Utopia (1516) as enjoying perfection in law, politics, etc.
- (usually lowercase) an ideal place or state.
- (usually lowercase) any visionary system of political or social perfection.
Utopia
/ juːˈtəʊpɪə /
noun
- sometimes not capital any real or imaginary society, place, state, etc, considered to be perfect or ideal
Utopia
- (1516) A book by Sir Thomas More that describes an imaginary ideal society free of poverty and suffering. The expression utopia is coined from Greek words and means “no place.”
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Notes
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Word History and Origins
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Word History and Origins
Origin of Utopia1
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Compare Meanings
How does Utopia compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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Example Sentences
Produced by Lot 17, Utopia highlights the story of Jaime Hill, a former Olympic-level gymnast turned professional mountain biker.
And the capital city is a veritable utopia of acceptance and integration.
Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh is building a tech utopia out of the rubble of downtown Las Vegas.
Founded as a utopia where possessions, childcare, and love were communal, traditional family structures were banned.
He was so disappointed with communism that he decided that the Khomeini utopia was the right one!
Utopia for Beginners Joshua Foer, The New Yorker An amateur linguist loses control of the language he invented.
Their dominion was an Utopia; and had it been possible to shut out every European and every wild Indian, it might have lasted.
Within a few hours friendly relations had been established between the natives and the readers of Utopia.
He was on a planet that seemed, at first glance, to be a utopia.
More actually wrote to Warham and to another friend that the Utopia had been printed without his knowledge.
Utopia I know is very rich in splendid scenery, but unfortunately it partakes much of the nature of the mirage.
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More About Utopia
What is Utopia?
Utopia is an ideal place or state, usually one that is unrealistic or unattainable. For example, if you love playing basketball and dislike studying, your utopia might be a place where everyone is supposed to play basketball all day and there is no school.
Utopia, capitalized, is the name for a fictional island from Sir Thomas More’s story Utopia, which is said to be a perfect society. The book describes the society in detail, including laws, customs, and religion.
Utopia is also any imagined perfect society or political system. It is often used when discussing politics and law to describe an unreachable goal or something that is overly visionary.
Example: We don’t live in some utopia where everyone has access to clean water.
Where does Utopia come from?
The first records of the term Utopia come from 1516. More coined the term using New Latin. Literally it means “no place,” reflecting the idea that the perfect society doesn’t exist.
The point More makes with Utopia is that because every person has a different opinion and different needs, utopia is not actually attainable. While we use utopia to generally refer to any perfect place, we’re also saying that the perfect place is unreachable or unrealistic. Though that doesn’t stop most people from trying to find or create a utopia for themselves or for the world.
You might also use utopia to describe a place that you greatly enjoy or find relaxing and peaceful. Just remember that not everyone will agree on what’s enjoyable or peaceful.
Did you know … ?
What are some other forms related to Utopia?
- Utopian (adjective)
What are some synonyms for Utopia?
What are some words that share a root or word element with Utopia?
What are some words that often get used in discussing Utopia?
How is Utopia used in real life?
Utopia is often used in contrast to something that is a problem. In fiction, utopia can be used with other terms to create the name of a fictional place that the author finds ideal.
can we just let the producers of great british bake off run the government and live in a whimsical utopia where our biggest crisis is a soggy bottom
— Daniel Howell (@danielhowell) October 6, 2020
If world peace was as important to people as getting tweeted back by their favorite celebrity, we'd live in a blissful Utopia.
— Adam Levine (@adamlevine) July 6, 2012
It's pretty much football utopia this weekend – time to kiss the family goodbye for a couple days!
Saturday:
Bama vs LSU
Uga vs KY
West Va vs Texas
PSU vs MichSunday:
Rams vs Saints
Packers vs Pats— Danny Kanell (@dannykanell) October 31, 2018
Try using Utopia!
True or False?
A Utopia is a place where nothing good ever happens.
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