often capitalized: a place of ideal perfection especially in laws, government, and social conditions
2
: an impractical scheme for social improvement
3
: an imaginary and indefinitely remote place
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In 1516, English humanist Sir Thomas More published a book titled Utopia. It compared social and economic conditions in Europe with those of an ideal society on an imaginary island located off the coast of the Americas. More wanted to imply that the perfect conditions on his fictional island could never really exist, so he called it Utopia, a name he created by combining the Greek words ou (meaning "no, not") and topos (meaning "place," a root used in our word topography). The earliest generic use of utopia was for an imaginary and indefinitely remote place. The current use of utopia, referring to an ideal place or society, was inspired by More's description of Utopia's perfection.
The town's founders wanted to create a Christian utopia. It's a nice place to live, but it's no Utopia.
Recent Examples on the WebCelebrations of the utopia that will emerge with the demise of the combustion-engine automobile may be a bit premature. Mark Yost, WSJ, 8 Sep. 2022 The kids come of age playing unsupervised, feeling like the king and queen of an untouched utopia. Stephanie Merry, Washington Post, 13 Aug. 2022 This would lead us to a traffic utopia, where congestion and crashes are things of the past. Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 16 Aug. 2022 But for anyone who appreciates artists playing with the concert form in thoughtful ways, these shows may represent some kind of Canadian-American utopia of their own. Chris Willman, Variety, 26 Apr. 2022 When the Democrats say that inflation is a small price to pay for their green energy utopia, Tim Ryan has voted with them every step of the way. Aubrie Spady, Fox News, 23 July 2022 Social media is often touted as this feminist utopia where anyone can be somebody. Maggie Zhou, refinery29.com, 10 June 2022 In both, Fire Island is depicted as a gay utopia, a carefree bacchanal soon to end with the appearance of a mysterious and deadly illness that seems to be targeting gay men. Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 June 2022 Such executions were common in Democratic Kampuchea, as the Khmer Rouge renamed the country, where an agrarian utopia was to replace a decadent capitalism.New York Times, 16 Mar. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Utopia, imaginary and ideal country in Utopia (1516) by Sir Thomas More, from Greek ou not, no + topos place