1. the action of regarding or representing something as perfect or better than it really is
2. a conception of something in its perfect form

Examples

• Her idealization of college life didn’t match the reality of difficult coursework.
• The movie’s idealization of small-town life ignored many real problems.
• His idealization of his childhood made him forget the struggles his family faced.
• The artist’s idealization of the human form created beautiful but unrealistic sculptures.
• Parents often engage in idealization when remembering their own school days.
• The idealization of past eras can prevent us from learning from history.
• Her idealization of the job made the actual work disappointing.