idealization.

1. The representation of someone or something as more perfect than the evidence or reality warrants.

2. The deliberate simplification of a model by using ideal conditions or omitting selected complications.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• idealization of a figure
• retrospective idealization

On the page

Retrospective idealization removed the conflicts visible in contemporary letters.

The account’s idealization of the figure obscured the documented mistakes.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Usually uncountable. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: institutional and conceptual change, philosophical orientation, qualification of recurrence and degree. Disciplines: academic writing, philosophy, cross-disciplinary analysis. Commonness: moderately common.