ideally
AmericanEtymology
Origin of ideally
Explanation
Use the adverb ideally to mean "perfectly" or "preferably." Ideally, you would always be ideally positioned to get a clear view of the parade going by — and not stuck behind a tall man in a top hat. You can start a sentence off with this word to convey the idea of "in a perfect world." For example, you might say, "Ideally, I'd be able to sleep in until at least ten every morning." The other way to use it is as a synonym for "perfectly," as in "My cat and I are ideally suited for each other" or "The vanilla ice cream complemented my apple pie."
Vocabulary lists containing ideally
Alice Austen Lived Here
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Popcorn
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The House Swap
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They say similar experiments should eventually be carried out with less enculturated apes, ideally wild populations.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026
"That's what you're ideally hoping will happen around the world and this is why Fifa have to do so much to make sure the funds they get do reach everybody," Wright said.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
On my “soft” off days, I always choose personal tasks that take less than an hour or allow me to be by my computer — ideally, both.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
Officials recommend storing one gallon of water per day per person for at least three days and, ideally, for two weeks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
Racing, a sport whose sustained dramatic action was ideally suited to narration, became a staple of the airwave.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
