Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. An ideally perfect place, especially in its social, political, and moral aspects.
- n. A work of fiction describing a utopia.
- n. An impractical, idealistic scheme for social and political reform.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. An imaginary island, described by Sir Thomas More in a work entitled “Utopia,” published in 1516, as enjoying the utmost perfection in law, politics, etc. Hence [lowercase] A place or state of ideal perfection.
- n. Any imaginary region.
- n. In entomology, a genus of coleopterous insects.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. An imaginary island, represented by Sir Thomas More, in a work called Utopia, as enjoying the greatest perfection in politics, laws, and the like. See Utopia, in the Dictionary of Noted Names in Fiction.
- n. Hence, any place or state of ideal perfection.
WordNet 3.0
- n. ideally perfect state; especially in its social and political and moral aspects
- n. an imaginary place considered to be perfect or ideal
- n. a work of fiction describing a utopia
- n. a book written by Sir Thomas More (1516) describing the perfect society on an imaginary island
Etymologies
- From New Latin Utopia, the name of a fictional island, possessing a seemingly perfect socio-politico-legal system in the book Utopia (1516) by Sir Thomas More. Coined from Ancient Greek οὐ (ou, "not, no") + τόπος (topos, "place, region"). (Wiktionary)
- New Latin Ūtopia, imaginary island in Utopia by Sir Thomas More : Greek ou, not, no; + Greek topos, place. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“All I know is it was published many years ago and the term utopia came about because of this book.”
“AKG Images The Word "utopia" comes from Thomas More's book of the same name, first published in Latin in 1516.”
“There idea of a utopia is a feudal system where old money remains in the old families while the poor eek out an existence as servants, if they are lucky, and peasants if they are not.”
Think Progress » VIDEO: In Goodbye Speech, DeLay Bitterly Attacks Liberals
“With the exception of Merriam-Webster, the word "utopia" is open to interpretation, especially when applied to the spirited town of Fairhope, Ala.”
“What utopia is the scientist referring to … I think it would be rather different from the humanist version of utopia.”
Essential Weekend Viewing: Kim Stanley Robinson at Duke, 1.29.10 « Gerry Canavan
“I am of the opinion that an anarchist utopia is morally abhorrent, however well-intentioned.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » The Double Standard of Libertarian Paternalism
“And to think that by spending NASA's relatively minute buget on problems here on earth we will somehow create a social and ecological utopia is nothing short of ridiculous”
“And to think that by spending NASA's relatively minute buget on problems here on earth we will somehow create a social and ecological utopia is nothing short of ridiculous, if anything space exploration can have an incredibly positive and inspiring effect on society but only if it is alowed to and if the people who so vocally support these views have their way it never will be.”
“The conservative view of judging is one that exists in utopia, not reality, on the Supreme Court cases that the public most cares about, because the meaning of the Constitution is far from clear and not readily susceptible to a ‘plain reading’ answer.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Attempts to Defeat the Kagan Nomination, and Political Hardball
“I think the faith of many that a high-IQ society would be a utopia is sadly misplaced.”
Why Do the Poor Commit More Crime?, Bryan Caplan | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘utopia’.
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1100
abound, technology, branch of knowled..., prognosticate, automaton, matron, an older married ..., realm, special field of ..., kingdom, annals, historical records and 981 more...
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Artistic words
Good for poetry, or just artistic on their own.
fluxus, gallant, kinetic, lurk, disengage, mist, agleam, voyeur, devoid, crimson, ebony, azure and 94 more...
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Russian Doll Words
A Russian Doll word is a word that, when you remove the first and last letters, is either the empty string, or a Russian Doll word. These are all of the 6 or more letter Russian Doll words found in...
taramea, tawings, tchicks, timider, tirades, tirings, towings, trailed, trailer, trained, trainee, trainer and 2373 more...
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GRE 2014
abate, abdicate, abase, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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phony places
erewhon, bezerkistan, etchisketchistan, telmar, xanadu, atlantis, utopia, shangri-la, uqbar, lemuria, syldavia, borduria and 2 more...
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Metaphorical locations
Fictional places that, somehow, everyone has heard of anyway.
Real places that have taken on the veneer of myth.
Anywhere that's really nowhere.Bumfuck, Idaho, Timbuktu, Dullsville, Anytown, USA, Nowheresville, The Boondocks, The Boonies, Skid Row, Main Street, the wrong side of..., cloudcuckooland, utopia and 45 more...
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toponymonymonymonymons
bits and pieces
india ink, chypre, cashmere, astrakhan, bikini, boho, damask, dollar, spa, cognac, champagne, yorkies and 2 more...
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GRE 1100
drudgery, implore, hapless, nuance, wrest, incipient, inadvertent, tremulous, bristle, euphemism, disdain, pugnacious and 346 more...
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Pursue bliss
Words for those who believe everyday should be your day in the sun. Follow your bliss!
Bon vivant, frabjous, Joseph Campbell, bel esprit, esthete, elegantiarum, grammaticaster, jouissance, surplus-jouissance, elysian, thaumazein, mirabile dictu and 61 more...
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♥
ambrosia, inamorata, gossamer, lily-white, hummingbird, roucoulement, poppy, daisy, calypso, lunula, lamb, dove and 1526 more...
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Tip-Top Toponymic
Place names that have entered general speech. Toponyms that interest me in other ways are on Place Names Of Distinction
hamburger, wiener, finlandisation, vernissage, hackney, venetians, bohemian, anti-macassar, berliner, cravat, calico, serendipity and 113 more...
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1100 words you need to know
GRE words
voracious, indiscriminate, eminent, steeped, replete, abound, technology, prognosticate, automaton, matron, paradox, realm and 288 more...
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dharma66's list
words that pique my interest either by meaning, pronunciation, or spelling, and words that otherwise tickle my fancy!!
pique, elusive, serendipity, nefarious, redundant, pseudoscientific, obsequious, flack, quandary, impervious, perchance, translucent and 168 more...
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Twitter favorites
The new favourite words of people on Twitter.
A script searches Twitter for "X is my new favorite word" and adds it to this list.
See also:
unfathomably, glice, cuh, fab, ciggaty, doll, thuggin, oxymoronic, pineapple, succubutt, griming, cheeky and 2369 more... -
Why We Curse: WTF?
This list collects the magnificent collection of vocabulary of the article "What the F***? Why We Curse," by Steven Pinker, in The New Republic (Oct. 2007). I think I'm more impressed with the coll...
curse, language, earthy, ancient, unthinkable, thinkable, emotional, rhyme, meter, alliteration, pleasure, metaphor and 196 more...
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Vocab
Words that I come across, and go blank, or want to clarify.
nefarious, edifice, malevolent, ostensible, folderol, bauble, livid, amnesty, calculus, saddlery, maisonette, cuisse and 423 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for utopia.

fbharjo here now and no where Jul 16, 2012
bilby The name of a region in central Australia. Which, as it happens, is very much nowhere. Nov 26, 2007
polymorph Well, utopia is literally "nowhere". I think it's interesting that social perfection is forever linguistically impossible (as it likely is in reality, so I think I favor this word). Apr 9, 2007
reesetee Always, u. Always. Apr 9, 2007
uselessness I listed them both... do I win? Apr 9, 2007
reesetee Hmm...interesting observation, SoG. Maybe we should run a comparison of other Wordie antonyms! Apr 9, 2007
sonofgroucho Isn't it interesting that currently almost twice as many people are listing dystopia compared with utopia?
A sign of the times, perhaps? Apr 9, 2007