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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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.
But it’s just this supposed difficulty that should ideally qualify him for all but the most timid of book clubs.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026
To preserve the scientific value of the tissue, donations should ideally occur within 48 hours after death, although later donations may still be possible.
From Science Daily • Apr. 8, 2026
Hunter also said the family were "really thankful" for Roberts apologising and accepting careless driving and "ideally" he would not have been found guilty of the dangerous driving offence.
From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026
I double-check facts and figures and ensure they’re from reputable sources, ideally with multiple additional sources backing them up.
From Slate • Mar. 28, 2026
Regiomontanus’s procedure for measuring parallax ideally involved comparing the apparent position of a celestial object soon after dark with its apparent position not long before dawn, thus maximizing the parallax to be measured.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
