I*de"al*ism, n. The practice or
habit of giving or attributing ideal form or character to things;
treatment of things in art or literature according to ideal standards
or patterns; -- opposed to realism.
I*de"al*ism (?), n. [Cf. F.
idéalisme.] 1. The quality or
state of being ideal.
2. Conception of the ideal;
imagery.
3. (Philos.) The system or theory that
denies the existence of material bodies, and teaches that we have no
rational grounds to believe in the reality of anything but ideas and
their relations.